When I saw Morgan Spurlock's documentary on what happens to a human body fed solely on McDonald's, I thought it was an amusing diversion, but nothing more. However, coupled with a general trend towards combating obesity, I would like to think that the film is partly responsible for some of the changes at the Golden Arches. As you may or may not know, the fast food behemoth pretty much threw their "Supersize" promotion under the bus immediately following this film (though they claimed that the promotion had just run its course.) They have also added apples to kid's meals as well as other options that--while perhaps not as healthy as they appear--are less calorie-dense than their burgers and fries. While these things haven't done much to give McDonald's the appearance of being a healthy place to eat, they take another step next week, when they add calorie counts to their menus. I have to admit, I'm probably still not headed to a Mickey D's any time soon--apart from the Egg McMuffin, their food doesn't much appeal to me anymore--but I still appreciate this step. They are the largest restaurant chain to ever do this, and the first to do it at a nationwide level. While this won't appeal to a certain subset of people who want to eat a Big Mac without guilt, there are plenty of people who are willing to eat fast food as long as they can plan the rest of their eating for the day accordingly. Now, I know that fast food is processed food, and lacking in nutritional value, and that even if you really want a cheeseburger from a drive-through, you can still get one from a local establishment, but those facts haven't stopped people from eating at McDonald's yet, so if they choose to improve themselves, that can only be a good thing.
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| Picture from McDonald's |
