We Watched FatHead

About the Film

Have you seen the news stories about the obesity epidemic? Did you see Super Size Me? Then guess what? … You’ve been fed a load of bologna.



Comedian (and former health writer) Tom Naughton replies to the blame-McDonald’s crowd by losing weight on a fat-laden fast-food diet while demonstrating that nearly everything we’ve been told about obesity and healthy eating is wrong. Along with some delicious parody of Super Size Me, Naughton serves up plenty of no-bologna facts that will stun most viewers, such as: The obesity “epidemic” has been wildly exaggerated by the CDC. People the government classifies as “overweight” have longer lifespans than people classified as “normal weight.” Having low cholesterol is unhealthy. Lowfat diets can lead to depression and type II diabetes. Saturated fat doesn’t cause heart disease — but sugars, starches and processed vegetable oils do.

This movie should be required watching for everyone out there. That is all that there is really to say about it. Okay, I suppose I could talk some more...

For the past few weeks, I noticed my wife having a bit of confusion about the science behind how we are eating, especially when it came to the rhetoric that is behind Conventional Wisdom (CW) and the Standard American Diet (SAD). Most notably, her confusion was about cholesterol. Now, like I dutiful husband and a friend, I explained to her what I knew about cholesterol and all of the other science behind what we are doing. But, like most of us out there, trying to learn something from someone you have to listen to 90% of the time (parents and significant others are the two main groups, but the government, politicians, and their ilk are also included) often does not stick.

Along came FatHead.

Now, I was rather bad about this, but I found a video link for the movie, which had been uploaded online by someone and it was probably not done legally. But, I wanted to watch it and have my wife watch it with me. I did not expect, however, for our three children to crowd with us onto a loveseat couch to watch it as well.

A bit of background for you, my kids watch Star Wars nightly, not just because they like it but because they always pass out before they get very far and each night they are determined to stay up so that they can watch it all.

I was pleasantly surprised that my kids were wide awake the entire time, even with reminders from my wife and I that they did not have to watch the movie if they were bored or tired. Honestly, I was hoping for some time with just my wife on the loveseat. Instead I received her and three jostling, worming bodies between us. Oh well, such is the life of a parent I suppose.

The humor that is interlaced with facts really helps to keep this movie from being too dry, which is normally when my wife gets bored and walks away, telling me to leave it on because she is "listening". Tuning it out is more likely. Anyways, she rather enjoyed it, to the point where she told me to get on Amazon and order it so that we could watch it again, and more importantly, so that we could share it with friends and family.

If you haven't watched FatHead, but are trying to be healthy regardless of if you are eating Paleo or Primal, or any number of the diets out there, you owe it to your body, your health, and your loved ones to purchase this movie and watch it with your family. Why it did not turn into a huge success like "Super-Size Me" did, I will never know.

Print this post