Food and Health Fact #207

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal published my review of “Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight-Loss Drugs.” The book provides a very thorough — and very accessible — overview of the many different issues related to Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs. You can access the review here.

Separately, today’s New York Times features an article about the enduring popularity of McDonald’s and other fast-food outlets. The article notes that it was 20 years ago this month that “Super Size Me” was released. The movie chronicles what happened to its director, Morgan Spurlock, after he ate nothing but McDonald’s for 30 days. The article can be accessed here, but a few key excerpts appear below.

“But two decades [after the release of ‘Super Size Me’], not only is McDonald’s bigger than ever, with nearly 42,000 global locations, but fast food in general has boomed. There are now some 40 chains with more than 500 locations in the United States. Fast food is the second-largest private employment sector in the country, after hospitals, and 36 percent of Americans — about 84 million people — eat fast food on any given day. The three major appeals of fast food remain intact: It’s cheap, it’s convenient and people like the way it tastes. . . .

“The stock price of McDonald’s hit an all-time high in January, and has gone up nearly 1,000 percent since ‘Super Size Me’ came out — nearly twice the return of the S&P 500. . . .

“The problem may be that while we are often scolded for eating at these restaurants, we are more often encouraged. There is a vast network of enticement — from huge marketing budgets, to family traditions, to just the tastiness of the meals — that pushes diners toward the drive-through.”