Super Spek Me

The American documentary Super Size Me by Morgan Spurlock opened in Prague on the February 8. In the documentary Spurlock himself eats a McDonald’s meal (super sizing it when asked) three times a day for a month and has regular medical checkups to assess the effect this diet has on his health.

On the same day a man who calls himself Karel Gustav Bozan began a Czech take on the experiment, called Super Spek Me, organised by the film distribution Aerofilms. Super Spek was modelled on Super Size Me with one fundamental difference; Karel was only allowed to eat typical Czech pub food from restaurants, stalls and buffets. He could not consume fruit or vegetables that were not part of the meal, exercise was not permitted and food had to be washed down with beer. It ended on the March 8 with surprising results.

The outcome was revealed to a packed cinema in Prague; Karel lost six kilos, his cholesterol levels went down, as did his liver enzymes, his triglyceride and his uric acid levels. In a radio interview he stated that he felt “good, great” and “would do it again”. These results are very different from those in Super Size Me, where Spurlock suffered from a sharp increase in blood pressure, a substantial weight gain and serious liver problems, failing to complete the 30 days.

The outcome surprised many people, including Aerofilms. The conclusion seems to be that a diet of Czech pub food can have beneficial effects on health; but how healthy was Karel before? It has been suggested that the positive conclusion resulted from eating three regular, portioned meals, not from the food itself. However, it certainly appears that pub meals are far healthier than their super sized fast food equivalent.

Sources:
Radio Prague
www.radio.cz
Prague Daily Monitor
www.praguemonitor.com