McDonald's Weight Loss Documentary Being Pushed In US Schools

John Cisna, the 56-year-old Iowa science teacher who said that he lost 60 pounds while eating only from the McDonald's menu and doing daily walks, is now the fast-food chain's brand ambassador. He's also starring in the new McDonald's weight loss documentary, "540 Meals: Choices Make the Difference" that is being shown across many schools in the United States.

In 2013, Cisna created a video charting how he lost weight by eating McDonald's food and complemented this with exercise. He posted this on Youtube and the video soon became viral. The fast-food chain took notice and then hired Cisna as its spokesperson.

According to Fortune, McDonald's eventually produced a new video based on Cisna's amateur video. Then the company began peddling this to schools with a teacher's discussion guide. McDonald's suggested that the video may be shown in the classes "as a supplemental video to current food and nutritional curriculum."

In August, one franchisee of the fast-food company pushed the documentary for showing in schools in the New York tristate area so that kids can better understand the "importance of having balanced food choices," as stated in its press release.  According to Huffington Post, McDonald's actually sends schools a formal letter signed by dietitians in promoting "540 Meals." 

The main message of the film is that eating fast food has no bad effects to the health, as long as a person watches his or her caloric intake. Cisna keep his to a maximum of 2,000 calories daily and also did exercises. However, the documentary has since been taken down by McDonald's following criticisms by blogger Bettina Elias Siegel of Lunch Tray.

Siegel pointed out that McDonald's film allegedly didn't include the actual nutritional content of their meals, nor did they also discuss how high sodium content, which is present in many of their food items, can lead to serious health complications in later life. She also blasted the company for giving false caloric requirement information, as a 2,000 calorie diet is not applicable for all individuals. The video allegedly didn't discuss how a person should be able to determine what his or her required daily caloric diet is.

Gawker criticized McDonald's for brainwashing children, while the San Francisco Gate called the documentary as "the worst thing you'll watch today." Mother Jones accused the company for spamming the kids with the infomercial.

Meanwhile, a petition was already launched by concerned parents to stop showing the documentary in schools.