At the front of a Crenshaw High School classroom, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock recalled gaining 25 pounds and experiencing heart and digestion problems after a monthlong McDonald's binge. The students appeared disgusted at times, but a few still munched Skittles, Ruffles potato chips and a Jack In the Box hamburger meal as Spurlock spoke.
The group of about 50 students had watched Spurlock's documentary film "Super Size Me" the previous week, in which he chronicled his deteriorating health after eating the restaurant's food for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 30 days.
Critics have said the film is unrealistic because nobody eats that much fast food, but in the film, Spurlock points out that nearly 25% of McDonald's customers eat the restaurant's food more than three times a week.
Young people, he said, have a particularly strong relationship to fast food, which is why he is touring schools. He talks to students about his film and warns them of the dangers of eating too much processed, high-fat food. By the end of the year, Spurlock will have visited nearly 100 schools and college campuses nationwide.
He said he's not trying to generate free publicity for his film, but rather, seeking to turn around America's eating habits -- one classroom at a time.
Spurlock asked the Crenshaw students: "How many kids in here eat fast food once a week?"
Everyone raised a hand.
"Two times a week?"
Hands stayed up.
"Seven times a week?" Most hands dropped, but at least five remained in the air.
"It's not too unrealistic, because a lot of us do this," Spurlock said. "Who goes to McDonald's for an apple?"
"Apple pie," one student replied.
Fueled by concerns over an alarming increase in childhood obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, the 750,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District is at the forefront of a national movement to provide more healthful food to its students. This year, it banned its 700 campuses from selling sugary sodas, instead offering water, fruit juice, Gatorade and milk. The district has also tightened its junk food policy, restricting certain candies and chips.
Spurlock, 34, said he supports the attempt to restrict junk food and is asking other districts to follow L.A. Unified's example.
