That Sugar Film (2014); documentary film review

Poster artwork for the Australian documentary feature That Sugar Film.

Hidden Harms by Linh

That Sugar Film is a feature documentary by Australian film-maker Damon Gameau and is a companion piece to his book 'That Sugar Book', yet works well as a stand-alone documentary. Although the film omits some of the book’s facts and figures of Gameau’s discovery of sugar’s effect on his physical and mental health, it is an entertaining and visually appealing presentation of recent sugar statistics in seemingly healthy food and drinks. Prior to the experiment, Gameau gave up eating sugar three years ago and began eating 2300 calories per day on a healthy, non-refined sugar diet (with 50 percent fat). This film is similar to Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Super Size Me, yet That Sugar Film is more specific in its experiment and focus.

The documentary follows Gameau’s 60-day experiment of eating the equivalent of forty tablespoons of sugar every day, by not consuming any junk food or soft drinks, but eating perceived healthy food and drinking fruit smoothies and juices. During the sugar experiment, Gameau maintains the same level of exercise and consumes the same amount of calories, 2300, as he did pre-experiment. Gameau focusses on the sugars in perceived healthy food, such as fructose, that is often hidden or renamed on food labels.

Gameau conducts the sugar experiment on his own body with the support of his pregnant partner actress Zoe Tuckwell-Smith and a team of expert advisors comprising of author and chief sugar advisor David Gillespie, clinical pathologist (blood tests) Dr. Ken Sikaris, nutritionist Sharon Johnston and general practitioner Dr. Debbie Herbst. 

A supporting cast, which includes Stephen Fry, Isabel Lucas, Brenton Thwaites and Jessica Marais, do a sterling job of presenting some of the sugar statistics and other information of perceived healthy food sugars in colourful and interesting ways. Adding to the film’s visual delight, videos of interviews with medical practitioners and other health professionals or researchers are cleverly positioned on items such as food and drink labels, book covers, medical equipment, computer or television monitors and are sometimes accompanied with some CGI effects.

Stephen Fry explains the different types of sugars in the Sugar Family segment from the documentary film That Sugar Film. Image: Madman Entertainment.

Gameau broadens the scope of his sugar experiment to explore the effects of sugar on different communities. He travels to the Northern Territory’s remote town named Amata where Aborigines were consuming high amounts of sugar every day and dying of preventable diseases caused by high sugar consumption. Gameau then takes his mission overseas and travels to the United States, visiting North Carolina, New York and Kentucky. In Kentucky, many people suffer tooth decay and other oral diseases resulting from excessive consumption of sugary soft drinks such as Mountain Dew or Pepsi.

After the 60-day experiment, Gameau had an increase of 7 percent body fat, gained 8.5 kilograms (18.7 pounds) and added 10 centimetres (3.9 inches) of fat around his waist. The fat around his waist is a dangerous type of visceral fat that wraps around his internal organs. All these are the physical changes yet Gameau’s mental health was affected in the form of erratic behaviour, mood swings and feelings of highs and lows. The sugar gives him a huge but brief adrenaline rush and the dips in mood will make him crave more sugar. Gameau’s doctors inform him that he has developed full-blown fatty liver disease and is on the way to developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. It is interesting to note, that although Gameau consumed the same amount of calories from the perceived healthy food sugars, the effects and results are very different to his pre-experiment diet. Apparently, calories are not all the same and calories of fat have different effects to calories of sugar.

This documentary film offers some interesting and thought-provoking insights into the hidden health risks of sugar in commonly perceived healthy food such as muesli bars, fruit juices, cereals, baked beans, canned tomato soup, barbeque sauce, and sports/energy drinks. More education is required to raise the public’s awareness on the effects of hidden sugars, such as fructose, in perceived healthy foods and better food labelling on all products is necessary. A big hurdle is to battle the huge food corporations’ hunger for profits and the bigger challenge of our appetite for sugar.

Damon Gameau and his partner Zoe Tuckwell-Smith in the documentary film That Sugar Film. Image: Madman Entertainment.

Director: Damon Gameau

Writers: Damon Gameau (book and screenplay)

Cast: Damon Gameau, Zoe Tuckwell-Smith, Stephen Fry, Isabel Lucas, Jessica Marais, Brenton Thwaites, David Gillespie, Dr. Ken Sikaris, Sharon Johnston, Dr. Debbie Herbst, John Tregenza, Edwin Smith, Larry Hammons, Angelia Hammons, Gary Taubes, David Wolfe, Thomas Campbell, Kathleen DesMaisons

Producers: Seth Larney, Jason Sourasis, Paul Wiegard, Damon Gameau, Nick Batzias, Rory Williamson, Virginia Murray, Suzanne Walker

Cinematographer: Judd Overton (director of photography)

Film Editor: Jane Usher

Music Composer: Jojo Petrina

Production: Gareth Davies (production designer)

Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes