The recent success of Morgan Spurlock's documentary film "Super Size Me," as well as books like Eric Schlosser's best-selling "Fast Food Nation," have
prompted the public to talk back about the Big Mac.
According to Miriam Nelson, associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition and Science and Director of the Center of Physical Activity and Nutrition, Spurlock's film and Schlosser's book have successfully introduced the issue of fast food's impact on health to the public consciousness, but there's still more to be done.
"I do believe books like "Fast Food Nation" and movies like "Super Size Me" have had an impact," said Nelson, who also serves on the McDonald's Health Advisor Counsel. "[But] this impact is more on the individual company as opposed to the consuming public."
"In terms of sales, neither the book nor the movie had an impact on fast food restaurants," Nelson said. She has, however, seen a shift in the Somerville community to a more healthy diet. She notes that many local restaurants have agreed to include fruit and whole grain products on their menus.
"I do think consumption of fast food will change to hopefully a diet with more unprocessed food, but this will be a slow change," Nelson said.
Sophomore Rachel Silver is happy that fast food chains like McDonald's and Burger King now offering 'healthy' alternatives to hamburgers. "I think the healthy option is a good idea because fast food is so convenient and cheap," Silver said. "This is a good step for America."
Mark DesLaurier, the Executive Chef at Cardullo's Gourmet Shoppe in Cambridge and professor of an ExCollege course titled "The Evolution of Gastronomy in America," is not so sure. "These 'healthy' options aren't always healthy," DesLaurier said, who suggests sushi as a "quick" food option that's also healthy. "The quality of meat put into salads is poor, and the dressings are usually loaded with saturated fats."
Some students, wary of fast food restaurants' 'healthy' options for reasons similar to DesLaurier's, turn instead to restaurants like Subway, where meals are created on the spot.
"I like Subway, and after eating it I don't feel like I ate fast food - it's pretty fresh," said freshman Stephanie Lapidus. A new Subway is scheduled to open in nearby Davis Square (which is already home to a McDonald's) in the coming weeks.
"Super Size Me," which cost $65,000 to make and has grossed $11,487,995 domestically so far, was shown by the Tufts Film series this weekend. In the film, director Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald's for 30 days. His blood pressure skyrockets, his energy level goes down, and he gains 30 lbs.
Many Tufts students, like junior Priya Sharma, identify with the lethargy felt by Spurlock after his consumption of fast food, and the average student at Tufts eats fast food by choice less than one time per month.
Sharma, who eats fast food infrequently, says that when she does do so, she feels "lethargic because I've eaten so much that I'm in a general food coma."
For college students, the reasons to limit fast food intake may include more than just physical health: a recent Loyola University study found that the higher a student's fast food consumption, the lower his or her grade point average.
Students also see other negatives to eating fast food. "I read "Fast Food Nation," and it didn't affect my fast food eating habits, because I don't eat that often at any FF place," Sharma said. "But it did make me more aware of the costs of mass-producing food-not necessarily what goes into the food, but the social and economic cost of making the food; the impact it has on people that I would never think would even be involved."
For example, Sharma said, the book tells about the ways corporate mass-produced fast food negatively impacts workers. "A migrant farm worker, a potato farmer ... you don't think about the individual cost to people," Sharma said. All of the fast food stuff now is obesity, how it makes people fat, and so much more is at stake."
When students do hit the drive-through, convenience and price are among their main reasons. When it's late, they're hungry and pressed for time, or just need a quick bite, fast food seems to be the best option available.
"It's convenient, it's cheap, and it's fast - I love it!" sophomore Ryan McGeary said.
Adding to the allure is the fact that on nearly every corner, there is some type of fast food chain enticing people with colorful advertisements of succulent-looking food: for example, according to the McDonald's company website, there are over 50 McDonalds in the Boston area alone.
Students counter their cravings with knowledge, but can't always overcome them. "I have not seen 'Super Size Me,' but I have read 'Fast Food Nation,'" sophomore Alex Zerden said. "It changed my perception about fast food restaurants like Burger King ... but coming from the South, I still love my Chick-fil-a
