Holistic Primary Care is saddened to learn of the death of documentarian, Morgan Spurlock. The filmmaker died on May 23, 2024 of complications related to cancer. He was 53 years old. Spurlock is best known for his massively popular 2004 film, Super Size Me.

With a humorous touch, Spurlock took on a very serious topic: the impact of fast food on peoples’ health. The film chronicles Spurlock’s monthlong self-experiment in which he ate nothing but McDonald’s food, 3 meals per day, and always super-sized when prompted by the McDonald’s cashiers.

Concieved by Spurlock and his former wife, chef Alexandra Jamieson, and produced for roughly $65,000, the film became a huge hit worldwide, and is still used to teach kids about the dangers of poor nutrition.

Following Super Size Me, Spurlock had several other film and television hits, many of which drew attention to social and political issues. In 2017, Spurlock publicly confessed to sexual misconduct, stating that the Me Too movement provoked a crisis of conscience for him, as he realized that his own behavior was “part of the problem.”

“For me, there was a moment of kind of realization — as somebody who is a truth-teller and somebody who has made it a point of trying to do what’s right — of recognizing that I could do better in my own life. We should be able to admit we were wrong,” he told the Associated Press.

Here’s Holistic Primary Care’s original article about Super Size Me, first published in the Spring of 2004, before the film had secured a distribution deal.

	“Super Size Me,” a new film by Morgan Spurlock, documents the adverse health consequences of 30 days on an all-McDonald’s diet.

You’ve heard of the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet, and the Blood Type diets. But how much do you know about the health impact of the Big Mac diet?

New York-based film maker Morgan Spurlock is ready to enlighten you with his new documentary, “Super Size Me: A Film of Epic Portions.”

In what has to be one of the strangest “N of 1” experiments ever undertaken, the 33-year-old Mr. Spurlock voluntarily placed himself on an all-McDonald’s regimen for 30 days. The guidelines were simple: all 3 daily meals had to be purchased at Mickey D’s; if a server offered a super-sized portion, Mr. Spurlock would accept; and he had to eat everything purchased at each meal.

A film crew, along with a team of three physicians, documented the physiologic changes that took place over the month. It is not a pretty sight.

Three daily meals from McDonald’s for a month resulted in a weight gain of 25 pounds, and Mr. Spurlock’s total cholesterol soared from a healthy baseline of 165 mg/dl to 230 mg/dl. Within several days, the previously fit filmmaker was vomiting frequently, and suffered sudden headaches and bouts of depression. He also noted a marked decline in his sex drive.

Daryl Isaacs, MD, a general internist who monitored Spurlock, described the changes in his liver function as “shocking.”

Since making the film, Mr. Spurlock has returned to his previous weight and general good health, thanks in large measure to a detox diet designed by his girlfriend Alex Jamieson, a vegan gourmet chef.

The film, which mixes a healthy dose of humor in with its serious message, won Mr. Spurlock a Director’s Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

“Super Size Me” has yet to secure a distribution deal, though one is expected soon. Fortunately, Mr. Spurlock has not received any phone calls from litigators representing the fast food colossus. The filmmaker says he repeatedly offered McDonald’s the opportunity to represent their views in the film, an offer that was repeatedly declined.

To learn more about the film, visit Spurlock’s amusing and educational website, www.supersizeme.com.