Fat Head

I thought this documentary was all-in-all OK. I think the movie accomplished it's goal in a narrow-minded sense, which was to say that ultimately, consumers drive the market and it is up to the individual to make the correct decisions on what they are putting in their bodies. It is not the responsibility of the government to make our food choices for us. The other message that I thought was effectively conveyed was that having an occasional cheeseburger is not going to, in itself, give you a heart attack. However, depriving yourself from your biological urges can be stressful and can cause a backlash of overeating down the road.

I also appreciated the point that the movie made that simple sugars and refined carbohydrates with high glycemic indices such as high-fructose corn syrup are really the major dietary issue that our country should be focused on. Type II diabetes should be the target of our concern, and not animal fats (as far as dietary implications are concerned). Also, the sedentary lifestyle that the average American lives is a huge part of the problem, probably more so than what we are eating. Try telling Chad Ochocinco that the McDonald's that he eats before every game is going to make him fat or unhealthy.

On the negative side, I was off-put by the unsophisticated jabs that the movie kept taking at Spurlock and also the Vegetarian movement. I thought the movie did a poor and distasteful job of respectfully criticizing its opponents. The campy cartoons and name-calling really took away from the effectiveness of the film, and these tactics can quickly turn off an undecided audience, like me.

Also, the movie focused only on dietary/health issues. I thought the movie neglected the important issues of the environmental impacts of eating so much animal meat, the economic impacts, and the treatment of workers and animals.

The environmental argument: When humans eat animals, they are only utilizing 1% of the original energy in the ecosystem. When eating fruits/vegetables, we are using 10 x the energy from the environment. The rest is lost as heat/metabolic energy. Therefore, vegetarian diets are more efficient and sustainable for a large population than animal diets. The corporations also tend to be horrifically bad at keeping up to environmental and safety code, and usually find that it is more profitable to pay the fines and continue poor environmental/health safety practices, rather than correct the behaviors.

The economics argument: Most major corporations are milking the profits out of local economies and not paying it back to the communities or workers. Most employees of these companies can not live off of their wages and are not provided with decent benefits. In addition, many of these companies receive government subsidies for their ingredients and their employee benefits, which comes out of the taxpayer's paycheck. So there is a hidden expense to these companies and their affiliates that you are paying out of each pay check.

The animal ethics argument: The conditions that the animals live in are ridiculously poor. Most low-quality meat comes from just a few mega-slaughterhouses in the country, which is run upon the principle of "the more meat the better". The animal meat that you are eating is most likely from terribly unhealthy and mistreated animals (or in some cases genetically engineered), which hardly seems natural or healthy.

In the end, I thought the movie made some interesting points and deserves a watch if you are interested in nutrition, but still needs to be taken with a grain of salt (harharhar). Some of the points were good, but the movie was overall narrow in scope and a bit cheesy.

I felt compelled to write a review after seeing several poorly constructed ones here. Mine may not be a work of art but it's honest and I've been motivated to look into food, nutrition and health to a higher degree based on some recent experience.

My father died this July at 76. He didn't smoke or drink. He did have a strong penchant for juices, pastries and breads/cereal. He had become type II diabetic some years back. He was slightly overweight but from the outside you couldn't imagine he had 80/80/90% blockages in his 3 main coronary arteries. It was a surprise to me when he had a heart attack following knee replacement surgery (3/10) and by angiogram we discovered just how bad his health was. I didn't realize how diabetes and heart disease are closely linked. He eventually died from complications associated with diabetes/coronary heart disease and possibly depression. It all happened pretty suddenly, but the underlying conditions had been developing for years. If I knew what my sister (an MD) knew I would have seen the signs earlier.

"Fat Head" was recently introduced to me and I was struck by the incisive quality of Naughton's investigation. "Super Size Me" seemed very damning of fast food and those that were "stupid and lazy enough" to eat it. But Spurlock's representative's not releasing his food logs is very suspicious. That's where Fat Head comes in. Sure, it was cheesy in places but that's the point. Don't let the graphics and quips fool you - this really is a thoughtful, important movie that at the very least would invite viewers to dig deeper into the science of nutrition. The big take-away for me was to read more and I picked up one of the books mentioned in the movie "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. The history of how nutritional information has been lost/suppressed/perverted and ignored is striking. Yes, follow the money. Naughton doesn't strike me as a gold digger, nor a corporate patsy. Before making up your mind on any reviews (including mine), I encourage you to watch this and then dig deeper. I've been listening to my body for years when it told me a vegan/vegetarian diet just doesn't feel right. Now, via Fat Head and lots of additional research (GCBC), I'm starting to understand why. Our ancestors really did know what was going on. We'd be wise to consider that 'modern' medicine is only as good as the integrity to do real science when it comes to human health and not ignore evidence that doesn't suit our preconceived notions (as Ancel Keys famously did in being father of the incorrect Lipid Hypothesis).

This is one of the most IMPORTANT movies I've ever seen. That's why I'm giving it 9 stars.

I'm going to start off by saying that the only reasons I give this movie an 8/10 and not a 10/10 are the sometimes overly corny and personal nature of the rhetoric. By personal I refer to how much this movie makes fun of individuals such as Spurlock (Super Size Me) and The Guy from CSPI (hehe).

With that aside, I have to say this an AMAZING movie. First of all, each negative review I have seen so far misses the point of this movie or simply criticizes it for its low budget nature.

What they do not admit is that, although it is a bit unprofessional to criticize him and others in such a personal fashion, Spurlock had it all coming. This movie clearing demonstrates that Spurlock's entire Super Size Me movie was a sham, was not only designed to prove a point, but was also highly deceitful.

I'm a big supporter of low carb dieting. Now before the reader gets ahead of me, I'm not suggesting you survive on steak and eggs alone. As the movie CLEARLY states, this would be unhealthy. The movie clearly argues in favor of controlling carb intake while maintaining healthy intake of fruits and vegetables. As well, I am not a low carb zealot. As an athlete and someone who takes a deep personal interest in diet, I understand that carbs have their place. However, most people I come across consume massively more carbs than what's appropriate. The movie correctly targets sedentary lifestyle, sugars, and snacking as being major culprits in fat problems.

On top of this, it does an exemplary job of busting the cholesterol, saturated fat, and low fat myths. One or more reviews I read complained that this movie ignores other aspects of a healthy diet beyond cardiovascular disease. That wasn't the focus of this movie, and by the very nature of it being a movie it must be limited in scope. What these reviewers don't mention is that low/moderate carb (100g give or take depending on activity level and goals) diets with plenty of fruit and vegetable intake have been shown to improve all markers of health, from blood pressure to cancer, stroke, arthritis, diabetes, you name it.

I find it sad that each review criticized the presentation methods or subjective opinion on the movie's humorous quality without addressing how incredibly scientifically and nutritionally insightful it is.

This movie presents a plethora of dietary information that is largely unknown by today's population and does so in a (personally speaking) entertaining fashion. For that I give it 8 stars, and will try and get everyone I know to watch it. If you're reading this and are not sure if you should watch it, just watch it, listen with an open mind, and research the points it makes on your own. You will not be disappointed.

Of course not - that would be Fight Club. But in spite of its low budget and cornball humor, "Fat Head" is a movie that could make a difference. Plus, it's funny. My teenage daughter and I were laughing all the way through.

I get the impression that making Fat Head as a reply to the "Super Size Me" crowd was decided upon as a way to set the stage for the actual information Naughton is trying to impart. That being said, I have to disagree with the reviewers who say that S.S.M. isn't science, and Fat Head isn't a rebuttal; In S.S.M., Spurlock comes up with his hypothesis (eating nothing but fast food is bad for you), devises a test, follows specific test procedures, and publishes his results and findings. Naughton looked at his test procedures, results, and findings, and found specific faults and inconsistencies, which Fat Head addresses. Sounds like what they taught me in high school science class!

More importantly, Fat Head brings out some REALLY important information for the people who are trying to be healthy and failing. I've been trying to get people to read Gary Taube's "Good Calories, Bad Calories" (frequently referenced in Fat Head), which is of critical importance to our nation's health, but is...a bit dry. The fact that a lot of people HAVE read it is a tribute to its impact. Naughton takes that information and puts it in a nice, tasty, biodegradable paper wrapper and serves it up in a clown suit. Just the way we like it.

I can't say that I like that our society needs information packaged this way, but "edutainment" is the most effective way to disseminate information. Fat Head is well-researched, well-documented, funny, and imparts a critical message. Edutainment at its best.

I had a lot of questions and problems with the "science" of Super Size Me and evidently, Tom Naughton did, too. By refusing to accept the junk science about junk food, Naughton effectively and entertainingly digs up the skinny on fat and how folks get that way.

I had a lot of similar dieting experiences as the ones he relates to in the film, and my own research discovered a lot of what is revealed in Fat Head (the cooked data behind the Lipid Theory, the methodological flaws in the CDC Obesity report, etc.). But whereas I'm a lazy bastard who was content to learn that no, my body's NOT broken (but rather the Expert Ideas on how it should work are), Naughton went the extra mile and got health professionals and scientists to state on the record just why everything you think you know about fat and nutrition is wrong.

He never strays into the waters of conspiracy theory but hints at what COULD be the reason so many health professionals pushed a flawed agenda for so long.

As another user noted, the production values are not ILM-standard. So what? This film is all about the information and the manner in which it's presented is less important than what it's presenting. I suggest if you're really pressed for high quality funny animation, you throw on a Bakshi DVD and watch that. If you want animation that clearly and concisely conveys information, then the animation in Fat Head will do ya just fine.

I'm sure a lot of folks will NOT be happy with the info in this film. My question is, are they angry because it's wrong and harmful (and the evidence suggests it's not) or because it dares question the tribal notions of Fat and Sugar BAD!? I suspect option number two and bruised egos will do more to stir up their wrath than any problems with the information in Fat Head.

Well, that's their problem. Let 'em wallow in the horrors of Crap Veganism while the rest of us eat what nature programmed us to eat. I'm an omnivore and damned proud of it! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm up a for a nice brisk walk to KFC for a three-piece meal of Original Recipe...