Super Size Me director Morgan Spurlock who changed the way we think about food has died aged 53

The Oscar-nominated director behind documentaries such as Super Size Me has died.

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Morgan Spurlock has died aged 53 following complications from cancer.

In a statement shared on Friday, Spurlock’s family said he “passed away peacefully in New York surrounded by family and friends” on Thursday, May 23 in New York. The filmmaker’s family confirmed that it followed a private battle with cancer and that Spurlock had been undergoing chemotherapy treatment earlier this year.

“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” Craig Spurlock, his sibling who worked with him on several projects, said in the statement.

“Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. The world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”

Known for documentaries such as Super Size Me, in which he ate only McDonald's for a month, he first made a splash in Hollywood in 2004. The UK premiere of his Oscar-nominated documentary took place at the Edinburgh International Film Festival where he won the award for Best New Director.

Morgan Spurlock, director of Super Size Me has died

He followed this film with Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! in 2019 which exposed the chicken industry in America.

His other projects include Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? and those such as 3D concert film One Direction: This Is Us.

Since Spurlock released his food focused documentaries, there was an explosion in restaurants focusing on freshness, artisanal methods, farm-to-table goodness and ethically sourced ingredients - though not much has changed nutritionally.

In a 2019 interview with the Associated Press he said: “There has been this massive shift and people say to me, ‘So has the food gotten healthier?’ And I say, ‘Well, the marketing sure has.’”