In 2003, Morgan Spurlock famously spent 30 days eating nothing but McDonald’s food — which, he said, led to a fatty liver and “whooshing” in his penis.
The self-punishment was for his documentary “Super Size Me,” which exposed disturbing claims about the health impacts of a fast-food diet.
Over the month-long course of daredevil dining, Spurlock gained 24.5 pounds, his cholesterol skyrocketed by 65 points, he had a 15% increase in body fat and just about doubled his risk of coronary heart disease.
On Thursday Spurlock, 53, died from complications due to cancer — 20 years to the month that “Super Size Me” made him a star.
Dr. Darryl Isaacs, Spurlock’s longtime internist who is featured in the film, told The Post, “I last saw Morgan two weeks ago. He was very sick. But the cancer was not caused by his having eaten all that fast food.”
Spurlock was 32 when he embarked on his directorial debut, limiting himself to the McDonald’s menu for 30 days and vowing to say yes any time a cashier asked if he’d like to “super size” his order.
He consumed around 5,000 calories a day, with a typical lunch of a double Quarter Pounder with cheese, super size fries and, as seen in the movie, Coca-Cola in a container so large it barely fit in his car’s drink holder. A super size fountain soda was 42 ounces, as compared to a 32-ounce large; super size fries jumped from 6 to 7 ounces.
In one scene, Spurlock says the food has left him feeling “McCrazy … I’m dying,” before vomiting out his car window.
Dr. Isaacs is seen in the film calling Spurlock’s cholesterol and fat numbers “outrageous” and telling him that, if he keeps it up, “You’re going to die.”
Released in 2004, the movie made a super-sized splash. Produced at a cost of $65,000, it generated $3 million during the first month of its release and went on to earn more than $20 worldwide.
“People came to me and said they didn’t realize how big fast-food portions were and how bad for you it all was,” Dr. Lisa Young, a nutritionist featured in the movie, told The Post Friday.
In the UK, McDonald’s ran an ad saying it would take six years for the average consumer to eat as many burgers as Spurlock did in the movie.
In America, McDonald’s PR pushed back by describing “Super Size Me” as a “gross-out movie.”
Nevertheless, the fast-food giant quickly altered its menu to de-emphasize the unhealthiest offerings. The day before Spurlock’s movie premiered in the US, McDonald’s came out with its GoActive! Happy Meal — a salad, a bottle of water and a pedometer.
The same month, the chain announced it would be doing away with its super size options.
Spurlock’s sarcastic response to McDonald’s changes: “Just a coincidence.”
Not a coincidence, according to Isaacs, is the eye-opening impact that “Super Size Me” had on the public.
“The movie was very entertaining, it poked fun at an institution — and it changed an awful lot of habits,” said Isaacs. “You saw the movie and you ate less junk food. People felt an involvement with Morgan. They most related to his weight gain.”
But the documentary was not without critics who pointed out that Spurlock failed to share daily logs of his food intake, meaning researchers could not replicate the results of his experiment. He also failed to mention a struggle with alcohol that could have skewed the results, and the fact that he had been a vegan prior to filming.
There was also a 2009 counter-response movie, “Fat Head,” which claimed to show the possibility of losing weight while eating fast food.
Spurlock went on to produce and direct other movies, including the music documentary “One Direction: This Is Us” and “Dancing in Jaffa,” about Jewish and Palestinian Israelis taking ballroom dance classes together. In 2017, he made “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken,” which detailed him buying a fast-food restaurant.
According to Isaacs, the damage done to Spurlock by “Super Size Me” was short-lived.
“His health reversed back quickly,” said the internist. “He got healthy by eating well and exercising, and he remained that way.”
