The numbers do not lie, according to the National Institute of Diabetes 68% of America is either overweight or obese. By definition, a person is obese when their body has enormous proportions of fat, concentrated mainly around the abdomen. Obesity has continued to plaque the United States year after year. Obesity increases a person’s risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Obesity has no preference when it comes to color or gender. Age is not a factor either, because of technology and other outside factors, child obesity has increased at alarming rates. Although the United States has the largest obese population in the world, the daily convenience of the American lifestyle causes this condition because of the affect that fast food has on the body, the lack of physical activity and the lack of knowledge concerning a healthy way of life. When it comes to food, convenience is not always a benefit but a hindrance to your body.
As children, we were taught the four basic food groups: fruit, Legumes, whole grains, and vegetables. The United States Department of Agriculture as implemented a food pyramid. The new food groups are grains, vegetables, fruits, oils, milk and meat & beans. It is recommended to consume these foods in certain portions but with the fast pace life that most of America leads eating according the food pyramid is easier said than done. With the high pace lives that Americans lead, cooking duties have been relinquish to line cooks at restaurants like McDonalds, Hardees, and Carl’s Jr. All of which offer a large variety of foods, from cheeseburgers to salads. The daily recommend caloric intake for an adult is about 1940 calories for a women and 2550 calories for a man (plus or minus 200 depending on activity level) depending on your resource. The process of burning these calories is very complicated. To sum the process up, the body only needs the recommend about of calories, the excess is stored as fat, which can lead to obesity. If a person were to have a cheeseburger meal at Hardees for lunch, which includes a cheeseburger, large fries and a large Coke-a-cola the amount of calories consumed would total 1350 calories. For women, that is more than ¾ their caloric intake for the day and for a man it’s more than ½ their caloric intake. That does not include breakfast; dinner or any snacking that has been done. Children fare no better then their parents when it comes to fast food. For children ages 4 to 6, their daily caloric intake is 1800 calories. Feed a child a cheeseburger Happy meal from McDonalds and they have consumed 710 calories in one meal, that is nearly ½ their daily intake. Remember the body processes what it need the rest is stored as fat. The nutritional value of fast food may contribute to obesity, but a person’s activity level plays just as big a role in this epidemic.
Technology has changed the way the world operates. With the invention of the Internet, anything a person desires is just a click away. From grocery shopping, to writing letters, if a person has a computer it can be done. Television, video games and other electronic devices have replace imagination and outside activity for both adults and children. Child obesity rates have increased year after year because children no longer go outside to play after school, instead they stay inside and play Xbox or Play Station for hours, or they sit and watch television shows such as Sponge Bob. Technology has affected adult activity levels as well, social chat rooms, online gaming and surfing the internet as taken the places of interaction with their children. Families no longer go to parks and play; they stay inside and remain inactive. It is recommended that a person take part in at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day to remain healthy. This activity can include walking, running, jumping; anything that increases your heart rate. Physical activity can reduce excess body fat caused by overeating; reducing the chances of obesity. The reduction of excess body fat increases the chance of a longer healthier life. Not only can physical activity help to decrease the number of obese Americans, just the basic knowledge about a healthy lifestyle is just as beneficial.
Although there are hundreds maybe even thousands of informative books, magazines and web sites about healthy eating and exercise, most people find them intimidating. The pictures of the perfect models, the complicated formulas used and the acrobatic exercise moves needed to stay healthy can leave a person feeling less then capable of what they read. This also increase a person chances of becoming obese because. The information that is available on healthy lifestyles is complicated and plentiful but is necessary to maintain a healthy life and reduce obesity in America.
The lifestyles of Americans have contributed to the alarming numbers of obese people in the Unites States. The want for convenience has caused a decline in the activity levels of parents and children alike. The lack of knowledge pertaining to the affects of fast food consumed, the specifics of physical activity and an overall knowledge of a healthy lifestyle all contribute the obesity epidemic. If Americas do not find a way to control their lifestyles, health care cost will increase to an uncontrollable amount.
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Workshop Questions
Cause/Effect Workshop
Thesis:
1. Restate the thesis in your own words. If the thesis is a question and not an assertion, make it an assertion. Make sure the words “although” and "because" are in it.
Although Americans are the fattest in the world, our privileged life-style causes this because we eat fast-food, don’t exercise, and don’t avail ourselves of our resources to do anything about it.
2. Does the thesis argue a link between a cause(s) and effect(s)? Is it at the end of the first paragraph?
Yes, the article does a good job of describing the sedentary lifestyles of Amercans and our ignorance of what this can mean to our health.
3. List the cause(s).
The convenient lifestyle of Americans.
4. List the effect(s).
The effect on Americans is that as a nation we have the largest obese population in the world.
Audience:
Who is the author's audience? Will the audience already agree with the author, or is the author writing to the opposition? How can you tell? Give specific examples.
The audience would be people in the American society. Nobody else in the world would be familiar with the Food Pyramid, Basic Food Groups, or perhaps not know the restaurants listed. As part of that audience, I agree with the arguments being made for the obesity of the nation, however I also take exception to it. As an extremely busy, middle class mother, with a demanding fulltime job, and trying to get a college degree, I must have convenience in my life. I also eat very healthy, and go the gym 4-5 times a week. I would have liked to see some information about those that are trying to do it right.
Counterargument:
List the counterarguments (arguments of the author’s oppositions) used in the paper (there should be at least three). Does the author adequately address these arguments? Do you think there are other arguments that could be addressed? Do you see any logical fallacies?
1. The writer assumes that we make decisions as a whole population. We all frequent fast food restaurants, and are unaware of the consequences of high caloric intake.
2. All cooking is done by line cooks at restaurants like McDonalds, Hardees, and Carl’s Jr. This is a generalization, I ‘m sure that the author did not mean this to sound like we ALL do this, but there is no statistic, or fact backing this up, except for our high obesity rate.
3. I believe that the recommended daily caloric intake is actually higher than quoted, where does this statistic come from?
Title:
Does the paper have an interesting title? If not, help author come up with one.
No, the paper does not have a title. How about, “Is It Convenient to be Obese?”
Lame I know, but it’s a stab at it.
Introduction:
Is there a catchy lead sentence? What is it? If there isn't one, what would you suggest?
I do like how the essay starts out, it is very succinct, and gives a preview of what information is to come.
Conclusion:
How does the author conclude the paper? What do you think of it?
The ending paragraph sums up the essay fairly well, except for the part about health care. Though being unhealthy is mentioned in the article, nowhere is the cost of health care brought up. There should be a mention of this with some kind of fact or statistic, so that it is not a surprise in the conclusion.
Flow/Transitions:
Does each paragraph expand upon the thesis? Do the paragraphs flow? Which paragraphs have bumpy transitions?
I like how each paragraph starts, they each address a reason in the cause/effect statement. I would expand a bit on the role of the perfect magazine model in our society, peer pressure, and maybe on the emergence of “reality” shows like “The Biggest Loser”, Dr. Phil’s, Bootcamp, etc.
I enjoy reading article. Hope i can find more articles like this one. Informative post, I try to follow your tips. Thanks for posting.
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