Fed Up (2014) User Reviews

An important film that doesn't try to "sugar coat" the problem

[howard.schumann · 8/10 · 24 May 2014]

If you pay attention to nutrition labels on the food products you buy, you may notice that next to the number of grams of sugar, there is no percentage shown. The sugar industry made sure of that. What they don't want consumers to know is that the sugar content of many of their products is 100% or more of the average daily requirement. Stephanie Soechtig excoriates the sugar industry for valuing profits over health in her hard-hitting documentary Fed Up. Produced by Katie Couric, who is also the narrator and Laurie David, producer of the climate-change documentary An Inconvenient Truth, the film compares awareness of the true causes of obesity to the decade's long campaign informing the public about the danger of smoking cigarettes.

Though individual choice does play a part, Fed Up says that the main problem is not the lack of will power of the individual but the fact that people have become addicted to sugar. According to Soechtig, collusion between the food industry, Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has led to fierce opposition to regulation, government subsidies to farmers for their corn (which has been turned into high fructose corn syrup), unhealthy school lunch programs (80% have contracts with Coke or Pepsi), and relentless advertising campaigns directed towards children.

Bolstered by interviews with former President Bill Clinton, author Michael Pollan, and Senator Tom Harkin together with a bevy of medical researchers, the film cites statistics showing that 80% of the approximately 600,000 products sold in the supermarkets and convenience stores have added sugar and that, since the late 1970s, Americans have doubled their daily consumption of sugar so that now, one in every five people face obesity. It is estimated by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that in one year, kids eat more than 10 pounds of sugar by weight from breakfast cereal.

Using charts and graphs, Soechtig also shows that the amount of sugar the industry has added to food to compensate for the unappealing taste of low-fat products has contributed to the increase in Type II diabetes such that by the year 2050, it is predicted that one out of three Americans will be diabetic. The film makes the problem even more real by focusing on several teenagers who have struggled with their weight for many years, emphatically pointing out the error of the conventional wisdom which says that eating less and exercising more (striking a balance between calories in and calories out), is the best solution.

Sparing no one including Michelle Obama, the film notes that her "Let's Move" campaign has been co-opted by the food industry and the responsibility for obesity placed on the individual. While Fed Up is definitely an advocacy doc and is typically one-sided (representatives of the food industry refused to be interviewed), it is an important film that doesn't try to "sugar coat" the problem but asks us to become involved by seeking an alternative to sugar-laden products, putting pressure on government and industry representatives, and demanding that the food industry begin caring about the health of our children. Now wouldn't that be sweet?

This should be required viewing for all schools, doctors, and nutritionists

[michellelcalvert · 8/10 · 20 May 2014]

Overall excellent documentary that everyone could benefit from. The trailer covers a lot of the main spoiler points (added sugar and refined flour is bad, etc) but the movie delves in deeper and shows the politics going on to make sure that no matter what bad news is discovered about sugar, processed food companies will make sure you somehow consume even more. The movie points out what affects the bottom line for food companies is sales and growth, not health. The movie also showed some very interesting concepts about our fascination with exercise and counting calories. Our modern world is exposed to all kinds of manipulative marketing that feeds into what nutritionists and doctors tell patients. The movie tragically showed how well meaning parents thought that their processed food diets were healthy even though their kids were obese. The movie points out that nothing will change until people stop believing popular marketing and switch from processed foods to whole, fresh foods without all the chemicals, additives, and sugar. I would not be surprised if years from now we will look back on the sugar industry with the same horror as the tobacco industry, and hope that we do something about this before many more people develop unnecessary health issues.

I wish the story ended with a few more encouraging stories of people who kicked the sugar habit. Instead, I kind of felt like we were left hanging. I really enjoyed learning about the politics behind food marketing. There were also some parts of the movie that were slower going, hence only 8 out of 10.

It's not new, but it's still important

[StevePulaski · 8/10 · 9 September 2014]

Fed Up is a clearly well-meaning documentary, and its producers, director, and parties involved obviously bear emotions on the food industry that are perfectly in-line with the title of the documentary they are making. However, it bothers me that reviews of the documentary praise the film as something groundbreaking and that its discoveries and examination of the food industry is shocking. Did everyone forget the documentary Super Size Me, which garnered nearly-unanimous praise and just came out ten years ago? What about Food, Inc., another documentary concerning what we eat and where it comes from, or even its follow-up documentary A Place at the Table, released last year? As stylistically sublime and efficient as Fed Up is, it's not new information, but, maybe like the recent NSA/wiretapping controversy, maybe we just need a friendly reminder with more bells and whistles.

Fed Up is narrated by news anchor/talk-show host Katie Couric, who brings her perky-mannerisms and clarity to the table when discussing the food industry's peddling of high-sugar products, in addition to illustrating the tremendous influx of diseases like diabetes, heart problems, and obesity in America. Couric examines how America has seen numbers and their pant-sizes explode in the last couple decades, after the McGovern Report in the late seventies attempted to implement harsher food restrictions and advertising campaigns on the food industry. The industry responded by releasing many products claiming "low fat," "reduced fat," and "no fat" products which, despite their ostensible health benefits, literally taint their possibilities for being nutritious by adding massive amounts of sugar to compensate for the flavor fat provided. In addition, ad campaigns of the food industry were not given very detailed restrictions, allowing corporations to peddle food to kids that had little to no nutritional value and result in health problems from an early age.

How anyone could see any of this information to be new or groundbreaking is beyond me, but I continue to digress. Fed Up, after all, is a competent and intensely watchable documentary, illustrating a growing problem in America. The topic it touches on is one I've been telling people about for years, when my friends and I engage in debates about food and the health of America, in that poor-quality, processed food is ubiquitous beyond belief. Service stations have turned into gas stations/convenient stores, stocking every brand of soda, chips, and frozen foods one could imagine, and with no restrictions with advertising and lower-cost ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup in the foods, the corporations wisely look to glitz their products with billion dollar advertising campaigns to make sure your children know their product, by every color on the box to the plastic-wrap you need to peel off of the tray.

In addition to exploring the utter anomaly of how gym memberships in America could double, while obesity rates do the same, directress Stephanie Soechtig also illustrates stories from obese teens all across America, who are committing themselves to make healthy eating choices. While these kids are only twelve, fifteen, and even as young as ten or eleven, they condemn the idea of a diet, stating consuming healthy foods is how we should be eating all the time, but nonetheless, feel soul-crushed to learn that their lifestyle changes result in little-to-no weight loss whatsoever. Some of them, through their dietary ventures, experiences weight gain. While this part of the documentary steers into emotionally manipulating territory, if one looks past this effect and seriously contemplates the devotion of the kids and the fact that everything they were told to do to lose weight isn't working, it becomes a very upsetting situation to witness.

Watching these kids in tough positions makes me recall my own food habits, which are flawed to say the least. I weigh about one-hundred and forty pounds at age eighteen, am roughly five feet, ten inches tall, and, for the last two years of my high school career, scarcely ate breakfast, ate a muffin and an RC Cola for lunch, occasionally ate a balanced dinner, but mostly just played it by ear, and still kind of live that way today. When I was younger, my family ate a balanced dinner nearly every night we could, with meat, a vegetable, a salad, and a side of corn, mashed potatoes, rice, or stuffing. Then both my parents began working irregular work hours, I got a job and began working irregular hours, and to this day, we only eat together on Mondays.

This is the point Fed Up never brings up when questioning why Americans continue to buy into the cheap, alternative food that is heavily processed and infused with sugar when there are obviously healthy options. Few have time to cook when jobs demand so much of us today. It's far too difficult, especially when we can head down to the local fast food place, get a bag of food impersonally thrown at us at the drive-thru window, and get home with money in our wallets and time to spare.

Fed Up really hits its stride at the documentary's conclusion, when it compares the food industry's peddling of garbage to the manipulative and cloyingly false advertisements of the tobacco industry about four decades ago, which almost seem like farcical parodies today. Could you believe we bought their lie that smoking was sexy? Could you believe we thought it was okay to suck anything other than oxygen into our lungs and believed that it wasn't quietly hurting us? The filmmakers behind Fed Up believe (or hope) we'll be saying the same about the food industry in a short time. All I can say is if we continue getting "wakeup calls" like this documentary, we should learn to make their impact last before being greeted with a fairly similar product in relative short notice.

In the list of 1000s things which threaten our lives..you could add FOOD too.

[Dr_Sagan · 17 January 2015]

Although I am a Doctor of medicine and these facts are known by me since decades, I'll try to evaluate the efficiency of this documentary more than the facts which are undisputed.

The "not enough data" or "the relation is unclear" for many global hazards, are arguments that is constantly presented by all the major corporations. The pollutants in the atmosphere, the radiation emitted by cellphones and many other dangers are overlooked by the governments because of the enormous profits of major industries. To tell you the truth if these factories were to be closed probably millions of people would lose their jobs and their families could starve, literally.

That's not an excuse though. You can't (I heard the exact example in some TV series) to sell drugs with the excuse that YOU need to survive and provide to your family.

Fed Up, if nothing else, seems like a very credible Documentary. With interviewees such as professors of medicine from universities like Harvard, an ex-head of the FDA, and even an ex-POTUS (Bill Clinton) it's difficult to have doubts about that.

The "emotional" segments with actual families who suffer from obesity and what goes with it, are occupy a large part of the film but aren't too melodramatic.

The facts are presented with a clear way. Modern infographics are merged with real life examples to make each message as comprehensible it can be. You also get to realize some "weird" truths like the fact that while the US government is trying make the citizens and especially kids to eat healthier, at the same time tries to promote the use of agricultural products like corn when corn syrup is the number one provider of the sugar in many many foods.

The statistics are to be feared. 50% of American will experience the consequences of obesity even if their weight is in normal range. The movie rings the bell for the future generations too.

The production has high production values and a modern feel.

Just read that some critics wrote things like "A whirlwind of talking heads, found footage, scary statistics and cartoonish graphics". Well...that's a good thing! The problem is that all these facts and guidelines are often written in poorly made pamphlets or boring videos. You want nowadays to pass your messages in a modern way. Fast cuts, graphics and music are essential so the movie won't get boring and the viewers stop watching and miss the message.

A good effort overall. I recommend to see it, and to take it seriously.

An Expose on the U.S. Food Industry and What Is Making Us Sick

[rannynm · 10/10 · 28 May 2014]

Eye-opening! I love the way this film's message comes through in an intellectual and impactful way. This documentary tackles the issue of childhood obesity and follows the lives of kids across America. In between, we learn that everything we know about losing weight is wrong and that the content in our food products is a lie.

I want you to find any processed food product and look on the nutrition label. You will find that sugar does not have a percent daily value. All the other ingredients do. Why not sugar? Because, "80% out of the 600,000 food products sold in the country have added sugar and since 1995 the government has provided over eight billion dollars in subsides for corn based sweeteners." Revealing these surprising facts was no easy feat however, director Stephanie Soechtig brilliantly shows the struggle that all kids go through as they battle obesity. The half a dozen kids they follow through their physical and, more important, emotional pain - are amazing. We see them living different lives but dealing with the same obstacles. Their everyday struggles prove this film's theory. Many doctors, authors and, even presidents, are interviewed. Each has their say in the issue and all have wise words. The animation showing graphs, pie charts and ratings are clever. Mixed in with the informative, stock footage of news and food commercials showing the history of obesity, make this an exciting and insightful film.

I was blown away by Maggie Valentine's story. This beautiful girl is going through the heartache of trying to control her weight. She works everyday to release weight but, in the end, it's futile. To see her tears, frustration and sadness is unbearable to watch.

The message in this film is, "Change the food industry!" Being overweight is not entirely a personal fault. Our processed foods are a huge cause of the obesity rate in America. Food companies continue to grow bigger and stronger. Thus, we need to change the way we eat. We need to stop putting gasoline on to the fire. It's not easy. As Margo Wootan says, "Healthy eating is like swimming up stream. If you want to eat better you have to work hard against the food environment." The interview with David Allison, PH.D, Director of the Nutrition Obesity Research Center, is both tragic and funny. Allison has repeatedly taken research money from Coke, Pepsi and America Beverage Association. Asked about sugary beverages, David says, "one question you might ask is 'weather sugary beverages contribute more calories than other foods'" The interviewer asks, "Do they?" David replies, "It's a good question but I don't think the evidence is quite clear." The interviewer asks, "What is the science behind that?" David replies, "The ideal study might be to require people to … (he stumbles) Ah, let me start again on that. Let me get my thoughts together..." Allison can't even form words. This made me chuckle because he can't even devise a logical explanation.

I give this 5 out of 5 stars and recommend this to 6- to 18-year-olds. Kids need to be aware of what's in the food they eat and learn how to make better choices.

Reviewed by Keefer B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. For more reviews go to kidsfirst dot org

Get out the word!

[junkmail-385 · 10/10 · 31 May 2014]

Fed Up highlights sleazy lobbying efforts of the food industry and describes simple actions our government could take to alleviate the obesity epidemic. Even Michelle Obama was distracted by the industry. Perhaps with the prodding of this movie production, Michelle O. has more recently started to get back on track with making dietary changes in our schools.

Will our government move in the right direction? Only with a strong grass roots effort to counteract the industry. Fed Up gives us the tools. The People enacted change upon the tobacco industry. We can do it again for food!

Warning: Don't see this movie if you're happy with the status quo, a shorter, lower quality of life, and don't mind paying even more for health care.

Now it's up to us

[constanza-nm · 7/10 · 15 February 2016]

I saw the documentary on Netflix basically because I had nothing better to do, having no hopes or expectations about it, I just knew that it was a film about child obesity, but I was surprised to see that this fact is just the first stone. If I have to define what this documentary really is about, I would say that it is a well elaborated series of arguments against USA government and their legislations; and thank you for that. Although I was expecting to see more children's testimony (because I personally like that sort of documentary) it was amazing to get that amount of information about something that's really important in our lives: what are we eating and why. The arguments are well presented, with facts and professional opinions, everything is right there. The most unbelievable aspect of this film is not what they are telling us, but the fact, that we didn't know it before. The food industry is disgusting, they controlled pretty much our lives, but putting out their food that is harmful for us.

The one thing I wish had been different is, as I said before, the lack of relevance in the children's food habits and routines. Basically, there are a couple of kids with serious overweight issues. They express their emotions in some short clips, most of the times recorded by themselves. We can see how they are struggling and suffering from their situations. I like that honesty, but I wish it could be more of that. They are what motivated this movie (allegedly) and by the end we don't even know what they are really eating, or if they were really doing something about it, because there is not a deep follow trough, just the typing a the end of the film briefly explaining where they are now. For a movie that says over an over again that the speech of diet and exercise is not the real answer for stopping childhood obesity, it is also important to highlight that if you are dealing with this problem, you have to take care of yourself and stop eating what you normally eat! Yes, there is a bigger problem, is the government, the society, but if your kid weights twice, three times his supposed weight you have to take care of it, you have to intervene. We are also part of the society, we always look next to us but not to ourselves, that's the problem, and in that sense the film fails. I was shocked when I watched that kids have for lunch, burgers and french fries or pizza, EVERYDAY. That's outrageous. Kids need vegetables, it is not a myth, not only kids, human need vegetables, we need vitamins and water. Not a bunch of junk food an later on a bunch of pills to fix the problem. Send your kids their lunch, prepare them some rice and chicken. I know it can be time consuming, but the benefits are far more relevant. I was thinking about my home situation. I live in Chile, here we don't eat processed food at schools, you either take your lunch (cooked food for home, not bread, not a snack, and actual lunch, with carbohydrates and protein, even the salad as part of it) or you get your lunch at school, but it has to be cocked there. In college, we had a cafeteria, usually there were three menus, regular, vegetarian, and healthy. Al of them were cooked right there the same day, no processed food. With your lunch you also get a salad, some juice and dessert, and there was always fruit to choose, ALWAYS, maybe there was something more fancy as well, but oranges and bananas were always at your reach. That's how we eat, and it feels okay, the main reason why the overweight rates have increased in the last few years is because fast food companies are spreading like crazy around here and more and more process products coming from the United States are in the supermarkets these days. Yes, of course a 10-year-old would rather eat a hamburger, and yes, it must be hard living in a society where everything seems to be processed food, but we are the adults, not them, we have this information, they have no idea, let's take a step further. As I read in another review, this is the documentary that every parent should watch.

Big Food is killing us for profit

[MacCarmel · 10/10 · 29 May 2014]

The film itself was disappointing in it's often unreadable graphics and sometimes ADD-like pacing of images but I give it a 10 for the important messages that need to find as wide an audience as possible. One of those messages is of the extreme amounts of added sugar in the average American diet but the other is about the tremendous conflict of interest in most government agencies, and our public servants in Congress, which have chosen to protect corporate profits over the health and safety of our citizens.

The more one learns about the causes of obesity and how to effect healthy weight loss the more one understands that most doctors and nutritionists are subject to the same misinformation and propaganda as the rest of us. It's not about exercise nor is it about calories. It's about the quality and the combination of the foods you consume.

I strongly recommend the books of Dr. Mark Hyman to anyone who wants to learn more. Especially "The 10 Day Detox Diet" which is a fast, uncomplicated read with very clear instructions. Diet, in this sense, is less of a weight loss scheme and more of a well explained, sensible plan on how to eat for the rest of your life to stay healthy. Weight loss is a byproduct of healthy eating. I recently followed his detox and lost 10 pounds by removing sugar and other inflammatories from my diet. I'm a very good cook, cook all my own food, and purchase nearly everything at the farmer's market. I thought I was already eating quite well. But I was ignorant on certain foods, such as beans and starchy vegetables, which rapidly turn to sugar once consumed. The body has a similar reaction to foods which turn into sugar quickly as it does to eating raw sugar directly. The point is that even if you think you have a healthy diet there are probably simple things you can do to make it even better.

Michael Pollan has offered some of the very best food advice that is too simple to ever forget. Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants. Don't eat anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Don't eat anything with more than 5 ingredients unless you made it yourself. I know that my grandmother wouldn't recognize most of what is sold in any supermarket in the country as actual food. What's on the shelves these days is more like futuristic food-like substances. Reminds me of how we used to giggle when Velveeta was marketed as an "authentic cheese food". That's about as far away from actual cheese, or real food, as one can get. And Kraft was being surprisingly honest about that.

As with most things nowadays, one has to learn to read the coded language of the marketing campaign as well as the not entirely truthful nutritional labels and ingredients list. Because while Big Food may be subject to some sort of wrist slap for outright lies they have officially sanctioned governmental approval to be as purposefully misleading as possible.

Calories In-Calories Out Nonsense

[abrownj-66817 · 7/10 · 22 December 2015]

The movie titled Fed Up is about the effects of sugar and its contribution to the worldwide obesity and type 2 diabetes pandemic, a situation so serious that children were beginning to get this disease, which was initially classified as adult onset diabetes. The movie does a good job of describing the politics of food and the complicity of the USDA with multi-national agribusiness/food companies, mostly revealed by Marion Nestle's, PhD in her Food Politics and Soda Politics. The movie breaks down in having revealed the evils of sugar, it failed to adequately discuss the alternatives to sugar. Just eating vegetables and fruits is an incomplete answer. This omission arises because there is eclectic group of scientist/doctors with conflicting view as to what constitutes a healthy diet. To that end, one needs to look at the cast of characters in this movie and those who are missing but should have been included.

First and foremost there is First Lady Michele Obama with her "let's move" program, yet she does not want to "demonize" the food and beverage industries. Both Dr Nestle and Mrs. Obama seem to me to be proponents of the lipid hypothesis that saturated fat is bad promulgated by the 1977 McGovern Committee report. This has its roots Ancel Keys M.D. who was co director of the Framingham heart study. The other Co director, George V Mann, M.D. thinks, "This is the greatest public health scam perpetrated on the American public." Former President William Clinton pursues a vegan or perhaps lacto-vegan diet promulgated by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., MD

in his book, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

Michael Pollan, in The Omnivore's Dilemma and Eat Real Food, Mark Hyman M.D. Robert Lustig's M.D. Fat Chance , Mark Hyman, M.D. and Gary Taube's Good Calories Bad Calories and Why We Get Fat all emphasize the importance of quality fats, both saturated and unsaturated from animals, properly raised, and plants. David Perlmutter, MD, not mentioned in this movie, in his Grain Brain notes primitive hunter-gatherers ate a ketogenic (high fat) diet. This is also confirmed in medical anthropologist Weston A. Price's DDS 1939 Nutrition and Physical Degeneration.

Gary Taubes presents good historical data in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was generally known one could eat all the meats, fats, vegetables dairy, and whole fruits desired so long as one avoided or strictly limited the consumption of starches (bread, potatoes, cereals, etc) and sugars By so doing, Lustig points out the hormone leptin, which tells one's body it can stop eating, would not be overwhelmed by the hormone insulin, which insists one must keep eating. Both Taubes and Lustig assert the calories in-calories out is a failed paradigm; it's not physics but biology. To push the matter into the absurd, if one over eats, even slightly, one ends up morbidly obese and if one under eats, even slightly, one ends up terribly emaciated!

This may be the most important movie a parent ever sees.

[MontyBurns1969 · 10/10 · 7 January 2016]

Incredible documentary. Actually seeing people speaking the truth and exposing the food industry is so fulfilling. I applaud every one of those people who have a conscience and are more worried about protecting our children and future generations than filling their pockets with our new God, Money.

I laughed so hard at the part where they replaced the "Half the fat" label with "Double the sugar", it reminds me of super markets who make bigger shopping carts and brand them as "for your shopping convenience" rather than, "So you can buy more stuff and we can make more money."

My only regret with this movie is that I didn't see it 30 years ago. I've heard for years about how bad sugar is for you and not to drink pop and always shrugged it off. Sometimes you have to see a documentary like this for it to really sink in. I already know who I'm giving my last bag of sugar to.

A huge THANK YOU! to the creators of this movie from this parent.

Let's Move ... Away from Sugar

[ferguson-6 · 6/10 · 27 May 2014]

Greetings again from the darkness. Changing traditional thinking is not easy, but filmmaker Stephanie Soechtig gives it her best shot. The main theme here is that the obesity crisis is getting worse because we are not looking at the problem correctly.

All calories are not created equal, so Energy Balance (calories in equal calories burned) is a flawed theory. This messes with our eat less and exercise more mantra. The real bad guy here is sugar - in all forms. We learn that the food industry is adding all types of sugar to all types of foods. We know the dangers of corn syrup, and soda certainly gets some blame, but we get "tricked" with many other foods ... especially those in school cafeterias.

Narrated by (Producer) Katie Couric, the film gets a boost from such well known types as Bill Clinton, Tom Harkin and Michael Pollan. The film doesn't let Michelle Obama off the hook. It explains how her initial "Let's Move" campaign was designed to help us eat better. The program has been repositioned by the food industry lobbyists to promote exercise for kids, rather than proper diet. More detail on this would have been welcome.

There is also no shortage of other experts or sobering statistics. One of the most fascinating was 40 out of 43 lab rats preferred sugar water to cocaine. The point is that a sugar addiction can happen quickly and it causes our bodies to crave the foods that make us fat. Those same foods will not have daily requirements of sugar listed, because if they did, most servings would be over 100%.

So while the food industry is the clear target, the burden falls to each of us to better understand the negative impact of sugar. The Type 2 Diabetes statistics are stunning. Break your soda habit and learn what makes up the food you are eating. Don't wait for the government to save you.

This will change your life!!!

[Christopher_elia · 10/10 · 12 September 2014]

Stephanie Soechtig did an amazing job at creating a masterpiece that will truly open your eyes. From the writing on this magnificent documentary to the directing, the graphics and cinematography, Stephanie and all of the producers of the film have done an incredible job. The film manages to captivate you all throughout and pull you in with the shocking information that is displayed in it. The food industry is indeed in deep trouble and the film accomplishes excellence in illustrating that to the viewers. It is even witty and humorous at times, however this will soften even the most hardcore of people. This will hopefully open your eyes to do something and make a change. Brilliant imagery and emotions flying through the roof, making this movie, life-changing.

Sad, True but a tad useless

[kowas_2 · 7/10 · 27 September 2014]

As a doco this isn't half bad, it's informative with interesting graphics to keep the viewer interested. However I felt so frustrated and angry watching this! No.1 I know the premise of this Documentary is to showcase the addictive nature of sugar and it's control over our lives and yes it does that, but why are the subject matter so naive and stupid? I don't understand how people can choose to ignore their own responsibility to this 'epidemic' and blame the food companies solely? This is what I got out of this documentary. Seems the parents and their lack of education and responsibility to their kids is not important!

Maybe we are different is Australia, but I thought it's the parents' responsibility to provide food for their kids, not turn to the school cafeteria and then fast food companies to provide this for them.. these people are over weight yet sitting around the table scuffing down bowls of sugary cereals!?

We sit around and wait for governments and then these big food companies make decisions for us so we can follow them blindly.. or so this documentary will make you believe.

It is outrageous what is happening with food production around the world but if a product comes in a box with massive promotional casing 'sugarcoating' the shite that is inside and then we blame them for making poor choices for us, then I'm sorry we are to blame. Real food isn't processed nor does it need to be marketed. It doesn't expire in 2018 when it's 2014.. If you are in a country where tomato paste on a pizza is classified as a vegetable, and you accept this as fact then maybe Darwin had it right: 'survival of the fittest'.

We need to accept accountability on our choices and not have bias opinions shape them for us. This documentary in short needed to also point out the horrible educational flaw in the US system and not just the lack of labeling and pointing to food companies.. it's the role of the government to control and educate not to be influenced by greed. I feel sorry and hopeless for the US if this is where their focus lies.

Informative but Same Old Excuses

[ryanhill-55842 · 5/10 · 18 September 2015]

Read, "It Starts with Food"!

I just watched this and I will admit it was very informative. I am lucky to be married to someone who has a very solid understanding of healthy eating. Because of my wife, and years of reading Mens Health, I know a lot of things about the food I choose to eat that the people in this documentary and honestly most people do not. The fact that sugar is in just about everything these days and that calories are very different from food to food. It was difficult watching the people thinking they were making good choices and eating healthy with the cereals and "low calorie" low fat" food" that is ultimately full of sugar.

I do give the filmmakers credit for highlighting the real culprit of fat and disease in the large consumption of sugar. What I wish they would have done is stop making every fat person some type of victim of government failure. While the government could probably be doing something better lets be honest, the government never will. The reality is that there is too much money and power in the food industry which is okay as far as I am concerned. The way to stop "Big Food", is to stop buying it. People need to start taking some personal responsibility for themselves. Harsh, I know, and a viewpoint that was criticized throughout the movie but come on.

There are endless resources available to everyone these days. Anyone can go to a public library and for free use the internet to learn about healthy eating or for free check out a book. I recommend, again, It Starts with Food. All you need to do is educate yourself just a little bit. We need to stop waiting for other people to solve our problems all the time. The issue of childhood obesity is a big one and I fully understand the vulnerability of kids with advertising and sugary foods. But we as parents have the ability to make the correct choices for ourselves and our families. Sugar filled foods are just cheap and easy, so people stock up and chow down.

I could only give five stars because although very informative and eye opening, this documentary fell back on such a typical expose format, blaming someone else. Imagine what would happen to childhood obesity if we stopped blaming the government, and "Big Food", and thought for ourselves just a little bit. When we see our children getting fat and being made fun of, rather then calling out the food companies and assuring ourselves that it's not our fault, we took control of the situation and changed our lifestyle. Educated ourselves and our children so that moving forward they had the power to make better decisions and truly understand the food they eat. We did it with tobacco. Private groups are telling us all the time what tobacco does and fewer people smoke these days. When someone does smoke, and gets sick, popular culture holds them responsible because they knew the dangers.

I know this is a concise response to a complex issue but rather then be offended by it, try it. Take control. Detox. Drink water!

Important movie full of a wide variety of good information

[bruce-129 · 31 May 2014]

I've seen most of the movies that have been in theaters and online about nutrition. "Fed Up" is an important movie that does not have everything in it, but it tells the story in a good way and contains a wide variety of important information. I was very impressed.

One thread talks about how it is virtually impossible to overcome your body's instincts as well as habits you have been trained in since birth by commercials, and the ubiquity of food placement and messages that we get.

Another thread talks about the political system and how taken over it has been. When you start to piece things together - including facts from other industries - it becomes apparent that when we count GDP, Gross Domestic Product, we are really fooling ourselves counting the sale of foods that carry with them health costs that will show up for decades and be problems. The one thing we seem to be good at is manipulating people to hurt themselves in this country, and how can that have any good effect on either personal responsibility or the future of our way of life.

There is a lot to think about there. Several people have important messages including Dr. Robert Lustig, Gary Taubes, Michael Pollan, as well as others. I wish we got more than sound bytes and the movie was able to deeper into some of the issues here. The main idea that the movies takes on is that a calorie is not just a calorie, but it depends on the state of your body, and from where that calorie came from and what is it. Sadly this is not explained in depth, and I could have been.

An important movie that I am going to mention and urge people to go see.

NOTE - if you look through the reviews and comments in the message board you will see the typical empty vapid comments from people on the right-wing who will talk about personal responsibility. This is a good issue, and the movie deals well with it.

Go see this movie. 10/10

Making money on behalf of your health

[deloudelouvain · 8/10 · 30 May 2016]

Fed Up is a very interesting documentary about everything what is wrong in the food industry, especially the American one. It's all about the lobbyists and making as much profit as possible. The same like it was with the tobacco industry in the past, and the same as what is still happening with the firearm and oil industry. It's almost impossible to fight those big companies because they have so much money that they will corrupt the majority of people that are in charge of the laws. On the other hand you will still have people that are not selfish and that will try to make this world a better place. A place where money has no role and where people can live healthy and in peace. For that Fed Up is ideal because they can't ban a documentary like this one, where the truth about the food industry is being said. What makes the documentary sad sometimes is seeing how badly informed and brainwashed that a lot of Americans are. Seeing those morbidly obese children being desperate and trying to figure out why they are so fat is sad to see. What I found utterly disgusting as an European was the food those kids eat in their school. I had absolutely no clue that all those fast-food companies ruled the whole cafeteria. That would be absolutely impossible in any European country. There is no way our schools would serve our children hamburgers with fries, pizzas, nachos and all other crap food every day. I just can't believe parents in America don't say anything about that. Well most of them are obese as well so I guess they are used to it since they were kid themselves, but it's just appalling that something like that is possible in schools where your kids should learn to grow up healthy. Anyways, Fed Up, is a well done documentary that should be mandatory in every American family. A must see for every citizen of the world, fat or skinny, it doesn't matter.

This actually made me upset..

[LukeCustomer2 · 9/10 · 25 May 2021]

This documentary largely focuses on kids and their struggle to be thin in a world where most cheap food is very bad for them. I grew up in the aftermath of the McGovern hearings .. and I did exactly what they said. I ate muffins, I dieted... and I have been overweight my entire life. Spent so much money on gyms and diet plans and pills and the weight just wouldn't come off. Just like the kids in the documentary. This is not a "blame everyone else but me" documentary. The truth is that many of us didn't know how bad sugar was for us and didn't know that it was in almost every food that we would not have even thought it would be in. (Ketchup Bread). Most people do think that the products in the supermarket *couldn't* be that bad for you or they wouldn't be sold... but they are. Even now, at the end of the coronavirus pandemic you will see people continue to eat sugar and never think anything of it. It is depressing that this came out in 2014 and still nothing has changed. The cafeterias they showed in this movie were a disgrace. Pizza Hut in the schools? Horrible. Though I have switched to Keto and fasting when I am made to go to work it is VERY DIFFICULT to find food that doesn't have sugar in it. And even if I eat perfectly the cost of this way of eating hits me in my pocket book and taxes the health care disaster is going to destroy this country. And NO ONE CARES. I take a star off because they insist on interviewing some of the people who put these policies into place and not taking them to task for it.. Bill Clinton? It was absolutely under him that big AG started getting people to eat sugar.

One Of The Better Obesity Docs...

[MovieHoliks · 7/10 · 4 June 2015]

Over the past few years, I've seen countless documentaries about obesity in America, and "Fed Up" is one of the better ones. This film focuses on the causes of obesity in the US, presenting evidence showing that the large quantities of sugar in processed foods are an overlooked root of the problem, and points to the monied lobbying power of "Big Sugar" in blocking attempts to enact policies to address the issue. You'll hear politicians saying, okay, we need to get up and exercise (which is not a bad thing in and of itself), but you'll hear very few of them demonizing the food companies, which is what really needs to be done.

And SUGAR..OMG..sugar seems to be the number one culprit. It is a drug more addictive than cocaine! And, of course, the "pushers" (meaning, the food companies) are starting them on it young...at birth! The film also includes some touching video self-portraits by some young people who belong to the almost 17 percent of children and adolescents, 2 to 19, who are considered obese.

Katie Couric (co-producer) narrates.

Knowledge will set you free and extend your life

[fritodave · 8/10 · 26 May 2019]

I hope films like this continue to be made and hope that we take action. At 55 I've seen a dramatic change in America's waist line. I've personal lived through it too going from skinny to obese and thankfully back to a healthy waist by eating real, full fat, foods. I do believe that food is 90% of the weight game but also believe that some exercise is critical for overall all health. It is very easy today to sit in front of a TV or video game monitor all day.

Relevant

[proud_luddite · 7/10 · 17 June 2019]

This U.S. documentary centres around the obesity epidemic among young Americans in the U.S. during the past thirty years. The exposé includes knowledge on the true way nutrition works and how the U.S. sugar, cola, and junk food industries have manipulated governments to keep their profits high at the expense of so many people.

Considering the conspiracies exposed in this film, it must have taken a lot of courage for the film-makers and interviewees to participate in this daring project.

There are scientific facts about how nutrition works and whether exercise can actually burn calories from certain foods. Some of these facts are presented with cartoon-like graphics. This helps maintain attention as scientific facts are occasionally hard to follow.

The movie's deeper truths are exposed with the lies about nutrition (claiming that calories from a cola have the same consequences as those from almonds) and the devious ways that large corporations have hijacked many well-intended government health initiatives including those outside the U.S. borders such as the World Health Organization and those within U.S. borders such as Michelle Obama's "Let's Move" campaign to fight child obesity.

It's easy to feel down by the end of this film although there is a bit of optimism in the reference to the battles won against the tobacco industries. In any case, the graphics, interviews, old footage and the downright courage of everyone involved in "Fed Up" made the film well worth viewing.

It's the sugar that kills baby! A revealing and eye opening film of a problem(food industry) that's hard to beat.

[blanbrn · 10/10 · 26 September 2014]

Finally watched the documentary "Fed Up", and I must say that it's thought provoking and earth revealing of just how serious and dangerous the food and obesity problem has became for our nation. Narrated by Katie Couric this film proves that for years the food industry and federal government has been leading us in the wrong direction and our diets are killing us. This film shows a 30 year span of misdirection and bad choices of the government and food industry that scams our children thru advertising and school choice as they become fatter and fatter. Also you see interviews by top doctor's and political people and health experts who give their take on why eating has became such a health crisis. Plus the film follows fat kids and overweight families who continue to struggle with weight despite eating right and exercising. Yet the answer to the problem all lies in the sugar! Food companies have cut out fat yet they added sugar that's the toxic substance that we all love yet it kills us all. As experts say despite cutting calories when sugar is still present it doesn't matter you don't lose weight! And the film states the truth of how federal government is tied into the food industry and will lobby bad food into the local schools of kids and thru TV the advertising sells to kids a sugar taste it's a money making machine that's addictive to the brain. Overall this film is an important watch it's one battle that's gonna be tough to fight, so get "Fed Up" and be ready to fight.

Great doc but does lack in objectivity

[paintbynight · 7/10 · 17 May 2015]

Great documentary and I agree with many points but this is a true infiltration film of the now current liberal media. I don't think they ever interviewed one conservative/republican. The government and big business do have a major part in the epidemic but NOWHERE do they ever address the lack of impulse control that human nature is now nurturing. While very informative of what many of us already know( for the majority of this doc), they end this with 5 minutes of the obvious...MAKE YOUR OWWN FOOD at HOME! Yet the majority of this film is the blame game or the lack of 'Morality' of the advertiser while totally denying the allowance of social 'free will' to which the leftists' are so usually in favor of. It's a great and enlightening film about how big business and political hypocrisy really play a big part in a majority of human priorities and decision making. I thank the gods for giving me parents who taught me rational thought.

great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction

[silearnautu · 10/10 · 16 September 2014]

great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction.great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction.great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction.great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction.great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction.great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction.great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction.great movie...be aware food addiction is 8 times harder than cocaine addiction.

Sugar Is The Enemy

[kkm-89919 · 7/10 · 21 February 2019]

Fed Up is a documentary that is based off of people who are obese and have a problem with consuming too much sugar and foods. This documentary shows how kids in their early teen years are obese and why. Also what they do to try and become healthy again. This also makes us realize that we need to take care of ourselves and watch what we are eating and doing in order to maintain and healthy and good lifestyle. There were 3 main kids in this documentary and they were all under the age of 15. The oldest one was 14 and he was over 400 pounds. He had to get gastric bypass surgery. One of the four kids was a girl and she touched me the most because since I am a girl I felt like I could relate to her in a emotional and self confidence type of way. In some of her videos where she was talking she would cry because it's hard for her to lose weight it's not because they don't want to lose it it's just because they have a big appetite and they love to eat. Also once they lose weight they always some how gain it back. I could relate to her in a way when they were talking about how girls worry a lot about their body and what they look like because I think about that a lot. I always tend to think that if you have a skinny body and you are slim then everyone will like you. And I feel like people won't like you if you are not slim and good looking. Especially for the kids in their early teen ages will get teased and picked on. That will hurt their self-esteem and make them not have confidence in themselves. In this documentary they had also talked about the food industry and how they get us to purchase and consume their products. What stood out to me was how a lot of products had made a reduced-fat version of their products but the thing that had shocked me was the amount of sugar in both the original product and the reduced-fat one. They both have the same amount of sugar just the amount of calories is lowered by ten in the reduced-fat one. So basically you are intaking the same amount of sugar and just taking in ten less calories. Do you actually watch the commercials that appear in between your show?Commercials is another big cause for why we consume a lot of sugary products. This is a problem because in the documentary they talk about how one main thing that influences us to buy all these unhealthy products are celebrities who star in commercials. They are a big influence because most people like to listen to music and follow celebrities. For example if Beyoncé is drinking a Pepsi and tells you to drink it then you would go and drink it because you like Beyoncé and just because she is drinking a Pepsi you feel like you now have to go and drink one as well. Most commercials you will see a celebrity that you know acting or staring in it and they are most likely advertising something, most likely a drink or some sort of food, restaurant or place to go. I would highly recommend this documentary to kids either becoming a teen, in their teens, and or adults. They should watch this documentary because it really opens up your eyes and kinda shocks you a bit. It makes you consider re-thinking about your life and what you are putting in your body. This documentary could make you realize that you might need to change the way your are living and what you are consuming so you can stay healthy and live a good life.

Personal Responsibility vs. Addiction

[stephenhow · 5/10 · 2 June 2014]

The film doesn't teach us much more than we already know. Deep down, we all know what we should eat, but we're not given much of a chance in the commercial food environment. The film could have done a better job finding a positive message, and showing how cooking would solve a lot of problems in this country. And while they do deliver the most important message of the film, "personal responsibility doesn't work in the face of addiction", it's lost under a bad, scattered narrative.

The first third of the film quotes David Lustig ("sugar is bad") and Gary Taubes ("carbs are bad"), and seems to want to absolve the obese public of their guilt in the matter, and demonize certain food types.

Then there's a lot of footage of kids and their parents, all with junk food problems, which sounds like a lot of excuses. They also seem to blame George McGovern's 1977 dietary recommendations (always the punching bag; just like his '72 humiliating loss to Nixon).

The movie wants to say these people are addicted pawns of the food industry, and their hyper-palatable products, which is true. They all sound like heroin addicts, manipulating you, telling you it's not their fault, and how they're going to clean up their lives. But then they're out again looking for their next fix.

The movie doesn't compare well to the standard "Forks Over Knives". That movie presented a positive message, and a solution (eat real, whole foods, that make you feel better, and breaks the Pleasure Trap of food addiction). Fed Up calls for government regulation, akin to the tobacco industry, with warning labels, taxes, tort liabilities, and the like. It might work, like WWII rationing improved health in Europe, but it'll be a big fight. There's a simpler solution: cook whole foods, break the addiction. It's what we'll all have to do anyways.