I watched the documentary film Super Size Me a couple of days ago and it really opened my eyes to the fast food epidemic currently plaguing the United States. I am not using the term “epidemic” loosely here either, obesity has been declared a national epidemic in the US. According to statistics from the NCHS, heart disease was the leading cause of death in the US in 2001, followed by Cancer and Stroke.

The documentary focused on the fatties south of the border, but I wonder how fat we are here in Canada? From my experience it does not seem that we go to great lengths to eat-out here as they do in the US. When I visited Rhode Island this past summer, we had an extremely difficult time finding a restaurant in which to eat on Saturday evening. We visited the Olive Garden and the steakhouse next door and both places had waiting lists. People were standing around outside and in the entrances waiting for seats. I have eaten out countless times on a Saturday evening here in Fredericton and many times in Ottawa and have never experienced the dinner time frenzy as in Rhode Island. I’ll admit though, it could just be a coincidence.

I read an article recently that discussed ten things the Chinese do far better than Canadians and one of those ten things was called “Adult Playground.” And no, this has nothing to do with pornography (as I first thought, damn you Milf Hunter!). Adult playground refers to outdoor exercise equipment which is free for use by citizens. Apparently in Beijing they are in neighborhoods all over the city. I strongly agree with the author of the article that these adult playgrounds “[send] a not-so-subtle propaganda message about the benefits of healthy living.” I also believe that the fast food industry owes it to us to build some of these gyms here since they have hammered us with their advertising from the time we were in the womb.

Super Size Me was a great film and I urge everyone to see it. Besides the shocking statistics, the effects of eating only from the McDonald’s menu for a month is truly amazing.