How Much Harm Can Sugar Do By Michael Specter Analysis

Improved Essays
In Michael Specter’s article “How Much Harm Can Sugar Do?”, he expresses his feelings about how the war on obesity is changing America and is becoming the new normal in our nation. The war on obesity is proven to be a major problem in the United States, causing multiple diseases more common though is Diabetes. The War on Obesity is described by specter as a war in which the “allies and demons keep swapping places.”. Allies include Good Health, Healthy Foods and a fit lifestyle while the Demons are the Fast Food Joints, Candy bars, and an unhealthy lifestyle. In America everyone wants to have that beach body throughout their lives, however in today’s society most people just want to get rid of the gut. Specter includes his personal experience …show more content…
“My mother, keenly interested in the health of her children, insisted that we put margarine on our wonder bread.” If parents in today’s society were like this to their children the future wouldn’t seem so insecure, if we had a set way to do things and to stay fit we could change the way we are. Specter introduces Damon Gameau who sacrifices himself in the documentary “That Sugar Film”, to show how harmful sugar can be to the human body. In this documentary Gameau discusses the illnesses that can come along with the consumption of sugar from Diabetes to Alzheimer’s disease. The whole documentary is an experiment to demonstrate what will happen if our bodies become addicted to sugar. As human beings we all seem to have a person who can make us better for Gameau he described himself as someone who lived on pizza and cigarettes all his life until he met his girlfriend who was able to change his life around. However, in the hope of making better lives he spent a 2-month period consuming forty teaspoons per day hoping to find the effects of such a horrible diet. The director of the film Morgan Spurlock had nothing but McDonalds for a month, and consumed the equivalent of Nine BigMac’s a day. Eating so many calories in this horrible diet could place him on the path of obesity and other …show more content…
When over eating or consuming to much sugar can clot out our bloodstream. In the documentary Gameau proves that honey, castor sugar, and high fructose corn syrup all have the same effects and can all cause diabetes. One point Gameau explains is that if we cut out sugar everything in our body becomes healthy again. In 1973 he went to a town who do not consume processed foods including: Coca-Cola, Ice Cream, Processed deli meats, etc... As time went on many high processed foods came into the area and to the people who didn’t have any nutritional information it was a treat. Within the coming months they began developing diabetes and other illnesses. Prominently in Western Civilizations obesity and over eating is a very common thing and it should not be tolerated. People have the opportunity to change who they are and how they want themselves to look. Having a secondary source such as Gameau’s documentary can really wake up some people’s assumptions on obesity and calorie intake. Within the two-month period that Gameau was on this diet he gained massive amounts of weight and was on the verge of getting diabetes. Calories are not only sugars each calorie the body can process differently; carbs, proteins, sugars, calcium all are

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    This shows to be careful with how much sugar you consume. In the second article, Tarshis and Lewis talk about how eating too much sugar can lead to cancer. The article says" New studies have linked high-sugar to…

    • 265 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000” (Food, Inc). This really is true, because, before fast food and processed canned foods, people used to have to hunt for their food. Now, we have 24-hour fast food restaurants, and we have over 47,000 food products to chose from in our supermarkets. Since 1980, the percentage of obese children has gone from 5.8% to 17.5% (Obesity Rates 1). 38% of adults in our nation are considered obese, but 33% of the people who are obese didn’t graduate from high school (Obesity 3).…

    • 1262 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Erik Orr Mr. Farias English Composition 1301 – 047 04 Aug 2014 Title “Americas War on the Overweight” by Kate Dailey and Abbey Ellin gives readers a look at the hardships and judgment’s that come with being obese in todays America. The majority of obese Americans did not choose to be obese; factors such as illness, genetics, and psychological problems play a determining role. The simple assumption that everyone who is obese is lazy, over eats, or is a slob, is far from the truth. There are numerous reasons as to why one ends up being extremely overweight, and many more reasons why they remain that way forever.…

    • 1046 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The video then discussed the national epidemic; obesity and chronic diseases that swept the nation because of their unhealthy processed foods. Their foods are also associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and muscles, liver, ovaries, & brain…

    • 683 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The article, “The Toxic Truth about Sugar” by Robert Lustig, a childhood obesity specialist, Laura Schmidt, and Claire Brindis, who teach in the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy, claims that sugar is poisonous and is the cause of many commonly known noncommunicable diseases, and that sugar, in fact, is comparable…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analysis Of Fed Up 2014

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The documentary shows that in 1980 there were no cases of children with Type 2 diabetes, but today there are 57,638 cases of children with Type 2 diabetes in America. This clearly explains how sugar has increased the rate of diabetes. The documentary also shows that between 1980 and 2000 the fitness club memberships more than doubled across the United states but obesity rates also doubled in that same period. Soechtig ,the director of the documentary, is also the producer and director of the award winning documentary Tapped which shows that she is well educated and a successful director and producer. This shows that she is credible…

    • 1428 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sugar, fat and obesity are only a couple of words that prove to be the start of one of the biggest arguments in the history of the US and even the world. Sugar is a substance that is used in most of our sweets, drinks and more and is evidently becoming more popular by the day. The argument comes from the fact that people believe that sugar is the leading cause of obesity and research has proved that. The argument stems from two things, people believing that sugar is good and other believing sugar is bad and other being whether government intervention is needed or not. While sugar is bad for you in enormous quantities I believe that sugar is still good and healthy when taken in good amounts and I believe that government intervention is needed…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Today’s obesogenic environment is geared toward making us fat. There is an extraordinary amount of finger pointing going on at who is at fault. The most economical foods today are all the unhealthy foods, not fruits and vegetables. In the immense discussion over what to do about it, the cure lies in changing our own practices.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Obesity can cause several problems making it one of the most expensive diseases to treat. What goes in a human body can cause many long term health effects. Eating foods high in sugar, salt, or fat can lead to serious health concerns such as obesity or hypertension. The “convenient and inexpensive” foods advertised by many food companies have a much higher price tag than expected. These particular food companies have been at fault with the nations growing health concerns.…

    • 1606 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Is America Supersized

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages

    America’s Supersized Problem For the past decade, obesity has been the attributed cause to the thousands of individuals who are suffering Type 2 diabetes. Many people have begun to address this problem with campaigns to promote awareness and healthy eating habits. On top of that, many have also filed lawsuits against a vast number of food companies such as McDonald’s and Burger King due to their lack of warnings about the harmful nutrients which come with the infamously low-priced meals. In an ideal world, everyone is able to eat what they want without having to worry about their weight.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Obesity In America's War

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Obesity is a disease that plagues America’s old and young more than any other country in the world. Despite efforts to resolve this issue from the communities affected, and by local, state, and federal government this epidemic has yet to come to an end. The most common solutions offered to address the obesity epidemic are ones derived from an economic and dietary approach. Although seemingly worthy solution are commonly agreed upon, however pinpointing an incontestable culprit guilty for this monstrosity cannot be so easily done.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Conflict Theory Obesity

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Obesity Epidemic in America Obesity in the United States continues to grow at an alarming rate and is currently at an all-time high. Approximately 66% of Adults are overweight and 36% are considered obese while 33% of the children and adolescents in America are overweight with a staggering 17% of them are obese according to the Center for Disease Control in November, 2015. Due to this epidemic, sociology has taken a look into the major sociological perspectives and I will be addressing some of the problems that the obese run into due to economic and social hindrances as well as the conflict theory perspective and interactionist perspective in this paper. According to the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FRAC) more than one third of American adults are obese with a staggering 17% of children and adolescents (FRAC & JAMA)/…

    • 1657 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    You know Twinkies and Ho-hos, go-gurts and Lucky Charms; you know Dr. Pepper and Pepsi, and Totino’s and Blue Bell. But do you recall how much sugar is in them all? Without literally reading their nutrition labels, author Michael Moss assembles the facts about snacks and explains what makes these food-products as tempting as they are. Additionally, Moss uses his article, “The Extraordinary Science of Addicting Junk Food,” to establish a case which labels food manufacturers as chief culprits in the American obesity epidemic. Nevertheless, Moss’s article presents a few logical fallacies in the areas of ethos, but beautifully uses logos and pathos to express his main idea.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the past, sugar was considered to be an important but scarce commodity, one that only the rich and powerful could afford. Today, the advancements of technology combined with the increase of disposable income has resulted in an exponential demand for sugar. This demand is met with increased supply, and sugar related products is now used in almost all food related products. This over exposure of sugar, particularly in the form of sugary drinks, is damaging to the health of individuals, disrupts the economy, places a significant strain on the public health system and is detrimental to the environment.…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Sugar is addictive and I have experienced it myself. Even now when I control my sugar consumption I get carried away sometimes. It’s so addictive that even if you take a bite of it you will want another bite and your cravings would increase, your taste buds would ask for more and you end up eating the whole serving and in turn harm your internal health. Sugar is carbohydrate…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics