Commercial links heart disease death to fast food

The Washington, DC- based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) is targeting the deadly health effects of fast food in a new hard-hitting television commercial. Graphically linking heart disease and death to McDonald’s hamburgers, the 39-second ad shows a grieving widow weeping over the body of a middle-aged man in the morgue. He has a half-eaten hamburger in his hand.

The iconic golden arches appear over the words “I was lovin’ it,” an obvious play on the company's “I’m lovin’ it” slogan. A voiceover makes the connection—and solution—clear: "High cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart attacks. Tonight, make it vegetarian."

A McDonald’s spokeswoman called the commercial outrageous and misleading, saying that her company trusts customers to “make food and lifestyle choices that are right for them.” However, a 2007 report released by Corporations and Health Watch highlighted the company’s efforts to market their products—most of which are high in saturated fat and sodium, and low in fiber—to children. According to the report, one study of 9 to 10 year-old Australian children found that more than half believed that Ronald McDonald knew what was best for them to eat.

In 2003, McDonald's earned $3.5 billion dollars in revenues from the sale of their child-oriented "Happy Meals." In the meantime, one out of every three American children is overweight.

Experts agree that food habits and obesity in childhood set the stage for a lifetime of health problems. Animal foods, in particular, may “upregulate” growth in children, while vegetarian diets in puberty may offer girls lifelong protection from breast cancer. A recent study conducted by PCRM found that children can easily be encouraged to consume healthy foods through appropriate exposure.

Research shows that vegetarians, particularly vegans, have lower cholesterol than meat eaters, are less likely to be overweight, and are at lower risk for heart disease.