Morgan Spurlock cause of death revealed: Super Size Me star died at age 53 after battle with cancer and had been undergoing chemotherapy

Super Size Me documentary maker Morgan Spurlock died from complications from cancer and had been undergoing chemotherapy when he died aged 53 on Thursday. 

Spurlock's family announced his death on Friday in a statement.

They did not specify what type of cancer he was battling, or when he was diagnosed. 

Morgan Spurlock has died from cancer at the age of 53

Spurlock won an Oscar nomination for his groundbreaking 2004 documentary. 

He ate McDonald's for 30 days to test what the effects on his body would be. 

The outcome was shocking; he gained 24lbs and his liver ballooned. 

The film made $20million around the world and kickstarted a fresh-food revolution in the fast food industry. 

Spurlock was skeptical about how much real change had actually been made when asked about the issue in 2019. 

'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," he said. 

Spurlock was universally lauded for his game-changing documentary that highlighted how unhealthy fast food is 

'Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas, and generosity,' his brother, Craig Spurlock, said in a statement to ABC News

'It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,' Craig Spurlock, who worked with him on several projects, 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.'

Spurlock also directed the 2013 One Direction documentary/concert film One Direction: This Is Us. 

The West Virginia native produced nearly 70 documentaries through his production company Warrior Poet.

The follow-up film to Super Size Me, 'Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!' was removed from the 2017 Sundance Film Festival after Spurlock admitted to sexual misconduct. 

Spurlock said he was accused of rape while in college, settled a sexual harassment case with a female assistant at his office, and was unfaithful to all of his wives and girlfriends.

His physical and mental health rapidly declined, and he gained 24.5 pounds by the end of the experiment

'For me, there was a moment of kind of realization — as somebody who is a truth-teller and somebody who has made it a point of trying to do what’s right — of recognizing that I could do better in my own life. We should be able to admit we were wrong,' he told the AP. 

Spurlock immediately stepped down from Warrior Poets, the production company he co-founded.

'Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!' was released two years later. 

Spurlock was a gonzo-like filmmaker who leaned into the bizarre and ridiculous. His stylistic touches included zippy graphics and amusing music, blending a Michael Moore-ish camera-in-your-face style with his own sense of humor and pathos.

Since he exposed the fast-food and chicken industries, there was an explosion in restaurants stressing freshness, artisanal methods, farm-to-table goodness and ethically sourced ingredients. But nutritionally not much has changed.

'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,"' he told the AP in 2019.

The filmmaker is survived by two sons, his parents and former spouses Alexandra Jamieson and Sara Bernstein.