That was an excellent one.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Am I Missing Something?

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

As somebody who did enjoy watching Spurlock's documentary I wanted to watch this documentary because I thought it would make some informative rebuttals. I was hugely disappointed when it failed to do so. The few minor points it made were grossly overshadowed with ridicule directed towards Spurlock's. it got to the point were he made leaps from what was said in "super size me" to huge insulting blanket statements(racism, poor people, etc.). There is simply more to nutrition than caloric intake and they did not touch on that at all.The reality of the situation is that our choices, specifically for very busy people(note: i am not limiting this to poor people) have become small. So nobody is physically forced to eat McDonalds, however, there simply are less options available. Not everybody who eats fast food is going to have a heart attack, just like not everybody who smokes is going to die of lung cancer. That doesn't mean that smoking is any less bad for us. Another issue I had was that he made some "point" about advertisement not being responsible, but he fails to realize that places like McDonalds are in it for the money, if advertisements didn't work they would not spend as much money on it. I don't agree with lawsuits aimed at the fast food companies for obesity as I do believe that is personal responsibility and perhaps even leading back to the parents. Again it doesn't mean that the fast food companies have no stake in obesity.Bottom line is that if they had simply presented as a rebuttal without trying to ridicule and make blanket statements then I do feel they could have had some interesting points, but to me it was obvious that Naughton just wanted to capitalize on someone else's notoriety. I'm sure I could lose weight on fast food by being careful, but losing weight does not equate to being healthy.

Have you ever had a conversation with the type of person who refuses to stray from a rigid belief? Tom Naughton's film "Fat Head" felt like that to me. About 1/3rd of the way into this movie, I had to wonder if the film was paid for by the fast food lobby. The writer/director/star Tom Naughton is billed as a comedian yet there was no laughs here. Frankly, it felt like a one-side argument designed to further confuse frustrated dieters and to push a weak agenda. The dripping sarcasm, straw man arguments and non-stop condescending tone quickly made me want to turn off my TV, but I continued to watch just to see if it would get better. It didn't. There are so many problems with this film and Tom Naughton's arguments that it could not fit in a review. But, I'll go through a few of the most irritating points.NOBODY'S FORCING YOU TO EAT FAST FOOD: The first issue for me was the claim at the very beginning of this film that the fast food industry does not force anyone to eat their food. They may not hold you down and force feed you McD's, but what they have done in past decades is to crowd out mom & pop restaurants with a combination of aggressive marketing, cheap deals, factory food practices; all designed to push out local competitors. Another fast food chain technique is to locate themselves in areas which have no other options. (i.e. airports, highways, cafeterias, food courts) 25 years ago, a trip across Ontario meant reasonably healthy meals (if one desired) at truck stops. Today you cannot find anything but fast food places. It's a problem if you travel as part of your living which I did for many years. Trying to stay healthy on McD's, Wendy's and Subway is a real problem. You may not get fat if you count your calories, but you will feel horrible if this is all that you can get.STRAW MAN ARGUMENTS: This movie spent far too much time trying to discredit Super Size Me instead of addressing the issues which led to the making of that film. I have seen Super Size Me, but I'm really not interested in defending Spurlock's movie. The core point is still that the fast food industry has worked tirelessly to market food which calorie for calorie does not contain enough nutrition, and at worst can cause obesity in individuals who find the low cost and lack of affordable options irresistible. MARKETING TO KIDS: Naughton complains that McD's playland is unfairly criticized. They provide air conditioned / heated playgrounds in some communities that have not been provided by several levels of government. He does not touch on the other incentives that fast food chains use to lure children through their doors. In some countries, marketing to kids is illegal - and for good reason. Children are not good decision makers. Naughton turns the camera on a small child in the playland area who isn't interested in eating as if to say "see, these kids are only interested in playing, not eating" but neglects to mention just how awful this fatty, starchy, salty garbage food is for growing bodies. He also rails against organizations which have targeted McD's and other fast food chains to get them to make nutritional information more accessible as if such initiatives are nanny state nonsense. He forgets to mention that McD's has changed to include a few healthier choices as a result of these initiatives. Nobody is saying never eat at McDonald's, they have always been warning people that the claims of it being healthy for kids (yes, they used to say such things) is patently false. Instead of discussing initiatives that have resulted in better information for consumers, he attacks the consumer groups as vegetarian organizations intent on spoiling all our fun. If you go back to Morgan Spurlock's original premise, it was that the portions are intentionally priced to make gluttony affordable. And the more you eat of that type of food, the more you crave it which is in line with McD's business model. Super Size Me did not intend (IMHO) to show that moderate eating would lead to weight gain. The goal was to show that McD's and other fast food chains have a vested interest in getting you to eat their food, despite the negative nutritional effects, as often and as much as we can. POSITIVE CHANGES AFTER SUPER SIZE ME: There was an immediate shift for the better after Super Size me came out. McD's began to offer a variety of salads, apple slices, juice or milk instead of high fructose syrup sodas. Nutritional info became easier to get. McD's even began a campaign to show how their food is made. It's not all pretty but at least we know now.Activists have also exposed factory farming, the mistreatment of animals destined for McD's, the sludge they use in McNuggets and other odd practices which were once a trade secret hidden from customers. For the life of me I cannot understand why anyone would take issue with asking any organization to show us how our food is made, and what's in it. It should be our right. These are positive changes but I believe we can do better without ruining the burger experience for those who want it. Let's face it - shining a light on the inadequacies of these organizations and shaming them into doing better isn't bad. It's beneficial to all of us. I give Fat Head 1 star for being nothing more than corporate propaganda and misinformation. If you want to shed a few pounds, you should avoid this film and fast food in general if not for the calories and fat, but for the simple fact that it lacks good nutrition.

The film maker also claims to debunk the "bologna" of Spurlock's movie with facts. The only problem some of the facts he presents are as he would say "bologna". He claims that African Americans and Hispanics have a "genetic predisposition" to weighing more. When I heard this it sounded so wrong that I actually had to look this up and I found no studies that proved this and only one study that you could really stretch to argue that this is true, but doing so would require a lack of a basic understanding of how science works. He also over estimates how much meat hunter and gatherers ate. It is true that health declined with the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture, but meat only consisted of 20% hunter and gatherer's diet. His claim that a vegetarian diet makes people depressed and tired is also untrue. There are studies linking vegetarians to depression and anxiety, but nothing proving that vegetarianism makes you depressed. Some of his points are good, but seeing that some of the "facts" he presents are wrong, it made me lose trust in him. What also made me lose trust in him was his obvious right wing politics and his conspiracy that the government wants us to be fat. His information on heart health was interesting, but he essentially decided to only look at one measure of health. On top of the flaws in his argument and lack of focus, I found his personality rather grating.

A great movie that proves that we should all be skeptical of what 'experts' tell us and especially skeptical of what documentary filmmakers tell us. I never saw Super Size Me, but I know all too well what its conclusions were. Our media gobbled up SSM as gospel now its conclusions are part of our "conventional wisdom".This movie does a great job of reminding us to use our brains and think for ourselves. These facts alone (revealed in Fat Head) should make you question Spurlock's conclusions: - To this day Spurlock still refuses to disclose his food diary - The movie was backed by a lawyer who's suing McDonald's for billions - Spurlock's numbers of 5,000 calories a day don't add upThe movie may be a little corny and a little heavy-handed in its approach, but as believer in personal responsibility I feel it hits the mark.