Irish people have been urged to eat a balanced healthy diet and not to follow the lead of the hero of the documentary Super Size Me, which opens today.
The film, on general release in Ireland today, follows film-maker Morgan Spurlock who lives exclusively on McDonald's food for a month. The film mixes interviews with health experts with a personal diary of Spurlock's weight gain and health concerns over the 30 days.
The film highlights many serious issues facing Western society today, according to the Food Safety Promotion Board, Safefood. Any diet of "similar energy-dense foods and an inadequate amount of physical activity is likely to cause an individual to gain weight leading to serious effects on health", the board stated yesterday.
In a statement issued before its general release, Safefood said the film had already generated considerable debate. It highlights many issues, such as portion size, the advertising of food to children and obesity, according to a spokeswoman.
The board advises that people should eat "everything in moderation" and said people should put takeaway food in the context of a healthy diet.
"Safefood advises choosing the right foods, including four or more portions of fruit and vegetables and wholegrain cereals and reducing the portion sizes of foods eaten to ensure that a healthy weight is maintained.
"Evidence from the North-South Food Consumption Survey has shown that 18 per cent of the adult population on the island of Ireland are obese and 39 per cent are overweight."
The board welcomed two major Government initiatives which are set to tackle many issues fundamental to this debate: the consultation process by the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland in relation to children; and the establishment of a national taskforce on obesity.
A spokeswoman for McDonald's Ireland said she expected Irish audiences to see the film as a "sensationalist movie" that does not factually follow somebody's intake over a 30-day period. It will not have the impact on Irish audiences that it did in the US, she added.
The film makes "no contribution to the important dialogue taking place today on nutrition and balanced lifestyles", according to McDonald's, which has 69 restaurants in Ireland.
"The film Super Size Me presents one person's decision to act irresponsibly by consuming more than 5,000 calories a day - twice the recommended level for adult males - and deliberately limiting physical activity.
"Director Morgan Spurlock has engaged in a campaign of shock entertainment" and in doing so brings nothing to the debate about health, lifestyle and nutrition. Furthermore, to set about making a film on binge-eating is wholly irresponsible."