The 2004 movie "Super Size Me" showed the dangerous truth of an ballooning waistline due to a McDonald's diet, but now, during the economic recession, the only thing ballooning for McDonald's are its sales.
In Gainesville and northeast Florida, the fast food chain is selling more Big Macs, while the restaurant industry as a whole continues to struggle.
Allison Garrett, the account supervisor of Dalton Agency, a public relations agency for McDonald's, said the stores were doing well throughout northeast Florida and the country.
"More people are going to quick-service restaurants now than sit-down restaurants," Garrett said. "A college town like Gainesville is no different."
McDonald's delivered 55 consecutive months of increases in global same-store sales as of November. In 2008, McDonald's was only one of two companies whose Dow Jones industrial average share price rose in 2008, with shares gaining nearly 6 percent.
According to Richard Pollock, a certified public accountant and financial adviser, the fast-food chain will continue to be a solid stock option for investors.
McDonald's sales efforts will continue at the end of April, when it will be offering hamburgers for 49 cents and cheeseburgers for 69 cents. On April 15, the stores will give a tax relief day, during which customers can purchase a Quarter Pounder or Big Mac and get a second one for a penny.
Allison Dvorchik, a Gainesville mother of two, said her husband is often out of town, and she doesn't have time to cook, making McDonald's a quick and cheap option for her family occasionally.
Others, like Chris Lavery, a retired Gainesville resident, go to McDonald's because they know they will spend more if they go to the grocery store.
"If I have to buy a whole meal at the grocery store, I know it is going to be more expensive than just going to McDonald's for a bite," Lavery said.
However, the cheaper prices McDonald's offers aren't the only ingredient to the recipe that makes what McDonald's CEO Jim Skinner likes to call a "recession-resistant" restaurant.
After health critics practically accused the restaurant of making people fat, the chain added healthier food options to its menu such as apple slices and white-meat Chicken McNuggets.
Men's Health magazine recently published an article rating national food chains with a grade. McDonald's earned a B-minus, while others like Applebees, IHOP and Outback received F's. Even some of Gainesville's favorite sandwich shops didn't fair as well as McDonald's, with Jimmy John's and Quiznos hovering between a C-minus and a B.
Garrett also attributed part of the sales increase to its new addition to the coffee market. McCafe, the restaurant's new coffee line, now offers coffee at a lower price than competitors such as Starbucks.
