Many people today forget the importance of staying healthy. Some focus on only one portion of health, whether it's eating a nutritionally fit diet or exercising regularly. They don't see that in order to be in truly outstanding physical health, you have to incorporate both a nutritionally fit diet and regular exercise into your everyday life.

Recently we watched a documentary in health class entitled Supersize Me. It is about a man who eats nothing but McDonalds for 30 days and is required to exercise as little as possible, so he can show the harmful effects of fast-food combined with lack of exercise. In the beginning of the experiment, Morgan Spurlock, the man conducting the experiment, is seen by a nutritionist, gastroenterologist, and a normal physician. All of these doctors said he was in excellent physical health. As time passed and Morgan ate more McDonalds, he began to notice that he felt worse and worse every meal. When he saw the nutritionist half way through the experiment, he had gained weight, and his carbohydrate intake had sharply risen. With his lack of exercise, Morgan was told that he would feel worse and worse if he continued the experiment. The gastroenterologist and physician both agreed that he could potentially go into liver failure if he continued eating McDonalds for the remainder of the experiment. At the end of the thirty days, the nutritionist told him that if he didn't start exercising and stop eating McDonalds for every meal, there was a good chance he would die. The Gastroenterologist and physician both agreed that the McDonalds had damaged his liver to the same degree as an alcoholic, but in a fraction of the time it would take an alcoholic to damage their liver so severely. 

This video showed me the dangers of eating too much McDonalds without sufficient exercise to complement the fast food. Ideally, a person should eat a balanced diet comparable to that suggested by the FDA dietary guidelines. They should typically be physically active at a level equivalent to walking three or more miles at three to four miles per hour along with the light physical activity of daily life. This documentary showed me the severe damage eating too much fast-food can cause. It has made me think frequently about my health and well-being. Super Size Me has made me more conscious about my health and made me strive to exercise more frequently than before.

This documentary