DVD review: Killer at Large: Why Obesity is America's Greatest Threat

April 10, 8:48 PMWeight Loss ExaminerGail Gedan Spencer

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ShineBox Media Productions photo

The documentary Killer at Large (ShineBox Media Productions; DVD, $19.95) opens with a 12-year-old girl (at right) and her parents explaining why the girl is about to undergo liposuction. The family bemoans the fact that nothing else has worked to get the weight off, so she’s going to have 35 pounds sucked out of her with a vacuum.

And then we get to watch the doctor’s cannula energetically jutting into her thighs and abdomen, sucking out the fat.

The film, subtitled Why Obesity is America’s Greatest Threat, is no lighthearted Supersize Me. It’s a frightening look into why the next generation of Americans possibly won’t outlive their parents because Mom and Dad have been stuffing them with fast food and tater tots.

Fun fact: The documentary was written and produced by Examiner.com's own Star Wars examiner Bryan Young, who lost 40 pounds during the production of the film.

So how did we get ourselves into this big fat mess? The film blames cortisol-inducing stress (one of the executive producers is biochemist Shawn Talbott, who you might remember for CortiSlim infomercials a few years back), TV advertising targeted at children, low-quality school lunches and the lack of P.E., factory farming and corn production (high fructose corn syrup, anyone?).

One of the heroes in the movie is former surgeon general Dr. Richard Carmona, who says in the film that he was muzzled by the former administration for speaking his mind about the obesity epidemic. Apparently he was ticking off the big food lobbies. “Obesity is the terror within,” Carmona warned at a 2005 press conference.

A particularly humorous episode deals with the chubby green ogre favorite Shrek, who was trotted out by the government a few years ago to get kids to “be a player” and fit in more physical activity. At the same time, Shrek was also hawking fast food, Twinkies and sugary breakfast cereal. Confusing to kids? You bet.

Scattered throughout the film are scenes with the 12-year-old girl who had liposuction. Needless to say, she gained back all the weight she had sucked out of her and as a postscript in the film, headed to Mexico for weight-loss surgery.

The film sends a powerful message – especially to parents -- stop eating crap and stop feeding it to your kids, lest we become a nation of diabetics.