Have you ever come across something so incredible it leaves you speechless? Something so incredible, but due to resource constraints you can never experience it again?
That's how I felt the other day when I was visiting Burger King HQ and came across a book called, more or less, "Two weeks in the life of a Superfan." What is was was a soft-bound book filled with color photos of food. A small group of SuperFans -- Burger King fanatics who include the restaurant as one of their regular meal stops -- were given cameras and told to photograph everything they ate for two weeks. It was unbelievable, and a telling look into the eating habits of a good portion of the US Population.
SuperFans were male and female and multicultural. Most were between 18-35. Some ate little Burger King, some ate none. All ate fast food several times a week. Some ate fast food multiple times a day. All shared a lack of knowledge about what 'good' food is. Breakfast was a handful of Skittles, breakfast cereal, a glass of soy milk. Some pages of the book were almost empty - an indication that the participant had eaten almost nothing that day. Other pages were full - detailing every snack and meal eaten from morning until night. Some photos were disgusting, others funny - bites taken out of a bagel and photographed, a cookie bitten and placed back on a plate.
Each SuperFan had a section all to him or herself, along with a polaroid and a brief description of her background. The header of each page for any given section had the participants name and her age and demographic.
This was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting books I have ever seen on American eating habits. Although it contains almost no text or analysis, it is a valuable piece of cultural commentary and a document that would benefit nutritionists as a window into behavior that is only growing worse, not better, with increased choice around food.
Unfortunately the book is privately published by Burger King and will likely never be seen outside the tower. If you can get your hands on this book, it is, without a doubt, one of the most enlightening reads you will have on the subject of food.
