‘Super Size Me’ viewing teaches moderation

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Students gather in Davis Hall Wednesday for a viewing of “Super Size Me.” Wednesday’s viewing was part of NIU’s Bark ‘Til Dark program, which offers students late-night activities for little to no cost.

By KeAndre Worthy

Students got informed on nutrition Wednesday night through the documentary “Super Size Me.”

The Campus Activities Board hosted the event as part of its Bark ‘Til Dark series. The viewing focused on nutrition, emphasizing the dangers of eating too much fast food. During the display, organizers encouraged students to use the hashtag “#supersizeniu” to have Twitter discussions.

“[We chose ‘Super Size Me’] because it’s been around for a while,” said graduate research assistant Meagan O’Connor. “A lot of people know about [it] and [it] offers a lot of facts that can become good discussion points for the social media portion.”

Launched in fall 2012, Bark ‘Til Dark is a program that seeks to offer fun, late-night activities for students.

“…When I first saw [the movie, it inspired me] not to eat out anymore at fast food places,” said sophomore nursing major Sarah Papini.

“Super Size Me” is a documentary about a man named Morgan Spurlock. He discusses the influence the fast food industry has and why it’s a problem. At the same time, Spurlock exposes his body to a month of nothing but fast food.

“[Nutrition is a relevant topic] because a lot of people get the freshman 15, which is an example of the poor diet some students have,” Papini said.

O’Connor said the idea to have documentaries used as discussion points comes from a college in South Carolina.

“I am hoping this event will teach people the importance of moderation in the end,” O’Connor said. “I am not trying to get them to not eat fast food all together. Just control it.”

According to a self-reported survey from the CDC, 28.1 percent of adults in Illinois were obese in 2012.

“[Nutrition is relevant topic] because obesity is a growing problem that college freshman go through, but also is rising in Chicago, and as a nation it’s something we struggle with,” said sophomore nursing major Kara Ford.