Morgan Spurlock, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker best known for his documentary "Super Size Me," died on Thursday, May 24 from cancer complications at the age of 53.

Spurlock directed and starred in "Super Size Me," which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004 and earned him the best director award. The film, which followed Spurlock as he consumed only McDonald's food for 30 days was nominated for an Academy Award for best feature documentary.

Spurlock's experiment involved consuming only McDonald's food for 30 days. He consumed an average of 5,000 kcal per day. His routine included walking 1.5 miles per day. Over the 30 days, Spurlock gained 24.5 pounds, had a cholesterol of 230 mg/dL, and reported experiencing mood swings, sexual dysfunction, and liver fat accumulation.

Before the experiment, Spurlock followed a varied diet with vegan dinners. He was 6 feet 2 inches tall and 185 pounds.

The rules of his experiment were three McDonald's meals daily, consuming every menu item at least once, no outside food, and Super Sizing meals only when offered. Early in, he reported vomiting after consuming a Super-Size meal. Within 5 days, he had gained 9.5 pounds and reported depression and headaches alleviated only by more McDonald's food.

By the end of the month, Spurlock's weight increased to about 210 pounds, a 25-pound gain. He refused medication and experienced significant health declines, including heart palpitations, but completed the experiment.

The documentary concluded with Spurlock consuming a vegan diet. He lost weight gained but took over a year to fully recover. Spurlock compared the fast-food industry's tactics to those of tobacco companies for offering products that are harmful and addictive. McDonald's discontinued the Super-Size option shortly after the film debuted. 

Spurlock's career also included directing a satirical documentary about searching for Osama bin Laden, a One Direction concert film, and a movie about Homer Simpson and baseball. He also hosted the popular CNN Original series "Morgan Spurlock Inside Man" for several years.

Spurlock founded the New York-based production studio Warrior Poets and was a prolific writer and producer, with credits including "Rats," "7 Deadly Sins," and "No Man's Land."

In 2017, amid the #MeToo movement, Spurlock admitted to sexual misconduct in hthe past and stepped down as CEO of his production company.

Sources for this article included CNN and Wikipedia.