Posts Tagged ‘Super Size Me’

Health Care Reform and Obesity

Sunday, August 16th, 2009

By John Kruse

They say everything is bigger in Texas.  An article this week suggests that the cost of obesity in the Lone Star State will be $1.5 billion next year.  The author points out that obesity is going to cost this country no matter what we do about health care reform.  In addition, it is pointed out that Texas recently made health optional in high school and reduced the physical education requirement in high school to one semester instead of 1 1/2.

Obesity is the elephant in the room of health care reform, a public health catastrophe that kills well over 100,000 Americans a year, may cost Texas $1.5 billion next year in health care costs and lost productivity, and promises to shorten U.S. life expectancy for the first time since the Civil War.

Whatever Washington does this year to try to lower medical spending almost certainly will be swamped by the nation’s rising weight.

When it comes to trying to save money with health care reform (or Obama’s latest name: “health insurance reform”) it is beginning to sound like an ounce of prevention would be worth a pound of cure. Education is essential if we are going to attempt to prevent this staggering obesity trend.   If you haven’t seen the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) PowerPoint on obesity trends, I strongly suggest you view it.  The Texas article cites fast food on every corner as a major contributor to their problem.

If you are an educator who is in a position to do something about this trend, you can check out some FitMet lesson ideas from contributing author Matthew Bassett based on the educational version of the movie Super Size Me.

If you’re not an educator, and you live in California, you should be aware that this state is also trying to reduce the physical education requirement.  As if our debt wasn’t big enough already.  Currently, legislators are proposing that ROTC and marching band should count as physical education.  This short term solution to save some money will certainly hurt us financially in the long term if Texas is any reliable indicator.  Since when has marching band and ROTC taught anything about health related fitness and skills necessary for a lifetime appreciation of being physically active?

Read the rest of the Texas Obesity article here.

See how Massachusetts is trying to prevent obesity by requiring Body Mass Index measurements in school by clicking here.

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Posted in Body Composition, Lesson Ideas, Miscellaneous, Policy | 2 Comments »

Super Size Lesson Ideas

Wednesday, April 8th, 2009

By Matthew Bassett

Part 2 of 2

I like having an activity for the students to complete while watching the movie Super Size Me. This is why it takes me a few extra days to get through the video. It also allows me to actually get the students thinking about their eating choices instead of tuning out the video.

I usually have the students watch the first part of the video and stop the video when Morgan is starting his first meal at McDonalds. This gives the students the background to the experiment and also allows them to see the three visits to the doctors. I ask the students to predict what they think will happen to Morgan during the next thirty days as their first assignment.

Another activity is to have the students make a menu of some of the meals that Morgan is eating. During Morgan’s first meal, I have the students write down the items he has chosen to eat.  I then pass out a nutritional guide for McDonalds and ask the students to write down the number of calories for each item. This gives me time to discuss what a calorie is and how many calories an average person should eat in a given day. I do the same assignment during the rest of the video and also focus on other nutritional information such as sodium or fat content.

Another extension activity can follow the menus. Have students write a list of physical activities that equal the amount of calories that are consumed in the meal. This allows the students to integrate some math skills into physical education. They will also get an understanding that it takes a while to burn 100 calories and not just five minutes of work.

An activity to complete at the end of the video is for the students to write down five different things that happened to Morgan’s body while eating at McDonalds. The video lists 11 things that happened to Morgan as a result of eating out for the 30 days. These items range from medical information to personal feelings that Morgan was having. It allows students to understand that the type of food that you eat can have a negative impact on your health and also with your mood and behavior. I always ask the students their thoughts on eating McDonalds after watching the video.

I usually ask the students if they were to choose another fast food restaurant if the results would be any different than eating at McDonalds. I was amazed that a lot of my students actually thought it would make a difference. I had more than one student point out the Jared commercials for Subway and said that the food was always healthy. It got me thinking about how I could make a connection that any fast food is really not that good for you, even Subway.  I started by downloading nutritional information directly from the Web sites of some of our local restaurants and fast food restaurants. The students were asked to make different meal choices as if they were going to eat at a specific location that night. The students were then asked to find some of the nutritional information for those choices. The goal is for the students to see that the choices at these places are not always healthy.

Another continuation with this lesson is to replace one of the menu items on the menu with something healthier. Maybe it means changing the salad dressing, changing the size of the item or finding a healthier option on the menu. The goal is to help students make better choices and to look for healthier options while eating out. These concepts can be added to the Dairy Council of California’s curriculum for middle school students. They strive for students to understand correct proportions and to try and avoid over eating. The nice part about the Diary Council’s curriculum is that it is free!

Another addition that I have made this year is to purchase the regular DVD of “Super Size Me.” This video comes with some bonus features that are appropriate for the students. The regular version of the DVD is not appropriate for our students since it does have inappropriate language and it also has some scenes that are inappropriate for our students. The bonus feature called “The Smoking Fry” is on the regular DVD and can also be found on YouTube. This bonus feature shows Morgan placing different McDonald’s foods into glass jars. They show how the food decomposes every few days.  It’s amazing how long it takes for some of the food to finally start to break down. This is a great time to discuss with the students about the added things that are placed in fast foods to keep them fresh. These additives may not be very good for you in the long run.

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“Super Size Me” DVD–Educational Review

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

By Matthew Bassett

Part one of a two-part series.

Synopsis
“Super Size Me” is a documentary video (Copyright 2004) that follows Morgan Spurlock for thirty days.  Morgan starts the documentary by talking about obesity trends that have risen in the United States and how corporate America avoids taking responsibility. He sets out to eat at McDonalds for thirty straight days to determine if fast foods can have a negative effect on his overall health. Morgan receives supervision by three different doctors: a general practitioner, a cardiologist and a gastroenterologist.  These doctors record the data from medical tests during the thirty days. Morgan is given a clean bill of health by all three doctors and told that eating McDonalds for thirty days isn’t the best choice. He is informed that the body will adapt and Morgan will be fine. Over the course of the thirty days, Morgan’s health deteriorates. By the end of the film, Morgan reports that he has gained 24.5 pounds. His liver has turned to fat.  His cholesterol levels have risen to 230 (up 65 points). His body fat has risen 7% and doubled his risk of Coronary Heart Disease.  In addition, he experiences massive cravings, headaches, depression, exhaustion and mood swings.

For this instructional video, the original film has been edited and modified for use in middle school and high school. The DVD also comes with a curriculum guide and has lessons on behaviors and life skills, health, language arts, math, physical education, science, and social studies. The video can be shown in normal format or in pop-up format. The pop-up format shows various tid-bits that “pop-up” on the screen. It also has optional scenes that were edited out of the movie that can be chosen throughout the film. Finally, the DVD can be divided up into lessons that show smaller video segments with questions and activities for students to complete. This is helpful if you want to avoid showing the full video.

Review
I found out about the educational version of “Super Size Me” in late 2007. I purchased my own copy during Christmas break and presented the idea of using this as a lesson focus to my principal. After discussion with my principal about showing this video, she wanted to send home a letter to the parents.

I started using this DVD during the 2007-2008 school year. Many of my students eat out on a regular basis and I wanted to show them the effects of poor nutrition and limited physical activity on the human body. I show the whole video over the course of 3-4 days and I have students answer some questions throughout the film.

“Super Size Me” can be a great tool for getting students to understand the importance of proper nutrition and the need to exercise. You can simply show the video to your students or you can follow their curriculum guides for one of many lessons in physical education, health or another curricular area.

Next Week: Tips on using “Super Size Me” in class.

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