Documentary Analysis: Fed Up

The documentary Fed Up was written with the purpose of educating its watchers of the problems America has with processed foods and obesity. Some of the ideas that they presented that I found the most interesting were that this problem has been around for decades and has not gone unnoticed, the U.S.D.A. is responsible for setting dietary guidelines as well as supporting agriculture, and the similarities between big food companies and tobacco companies.
This problem with unhealthy lifestyles is not a resent occurring, it has been around for decades, as early as the 1950’s. Despite what it may have seemed, this problem of unhealthy lifestyles has not gone unnoticed. Experts went to the government in the 1970’s, specifically politician George
I think that the arguments that the authors of Fed Up made were well supported with facts, statistics, expert opinions, and interviews with real people that are affected by processed foods and obesity. However, while their arguments were presented well, they seemed to mostly blame one substance for the cause of obesity, sugar. They made the claim that the allowed intake for sugar should be 6-9 teaspoons per day, and the average intake for Americans is 41 teaspoons. They made a correlation between this increase of sugar intake and the rise of metabolic diseases in American children and adults. The film interviews an expert who made claims such as, sugar is poison, all bad diseases are caused by sugar, and that artificial sugars are disease causing. I believe parts of this are true; excessive amounts of sugar, especially unnatural forms of sugar cannot be good for our bodies. However, is there causation between the rise in sugar intake and the rise in metabolic diseases? I do not think that sugar is the only factor, like the film portrayed. I think that there are other factors involved. For example, overall increase in calories per day, the insufficient intake of whole foods with fiber and good nutrients, and unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles. Although sugar may take a part in the rise in obesity in America, I do not believe that it is as horrific as the film
I shocked by numerous facts and statistics that the film gave. I knew that the majority of America was unhealthy and obese, but I never really acknowledged it or cared enough to think critically about it. This movie improved my awareness of this rising issue in America. I was shocked that the government has tried to set better dietary guidelines for Americans but that they get setback from the strong influence of big food companies. I was also shocked by the child interviews that the film chose to show. It is almost unbelievable to me that there are 12, 14, 15 year olds in America that weigh over 200 pounds, some even over 400 pounds. Even more so that a 14 year old underwent a bariatric surgery. I was astonished by how little some families know about nutrition as well. One of the families interviewed thought that just because they were eating foods that were stamped ‘whole grain’ that they were consuming a healthy meal. They genuinely thought that a bowl of cereal, because it was made with whole grains, was a healthy meal. Another family was similar because they thought that it was okay to eat hot pockets because they chose the lean ones rather than the regular