Download Wu Julia Wu Dana Murphy Writing 39C 20 March 2014 Childhood

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Julia Wu
Dana Murphy
Writing 39C
20 March 2014
Childhood Obesity: A Rising Epidemic
Abstract:
Obesity, a medical condition in which excessive body fat accumulates to the extent that it
may cause death, has become such a pressing health issue in society that it is now considered a
disease. Studies have shown that this disease is a key player in causing many other life
threatening physical and mental conditions. A leading cause of obesity is a combination of
excessive food energy intake from non-nutritional food items. This composition will provide the
history of obesity while also examining the various reasons behind the increased diagnosis of
people with obesity at younger ages, and offer possible solutions to the increasing problem. This
composition will focus on the harmful effects of fast food and provide possible solutions to
control and increase awareness of the epidemic. Throughout the composition, information will be
provided on the current actions taken towards diminishing obesity by governmental authorities
and whether or not these actions are effective. Analysis of data from different research studies
and published articles will be discussed as well. A possible solution discussed is the regulation
of manufactured fast food for healthier content instead of the current non-nutritional ingredients
such as fats and sugars. Another possible solution in addition to this solution would be to provide
higher standards for health education in the younger generations. It is noted that although such
actions may not immediately or completely eliminate this disease, it however will serve as a
stepping-stone to the decline of obesity.
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Being skinny was not always seen in the positive light that it is seen in today’s society, so
what changed? Before technological advances created an overabundance of food, “the scarcity of
food…had led to connotations that being fat was good, and that corpulence…[was] desirable”
(Eknoyan 421). In fact, the term “obesity” was first used in the seventeenth century English
language as just a descriptive word for excessive fatness or corpulence (Eknoyan 421). However,
as food became readily available in most parts of the world in the latter half of the nineteenth
century, being fat was stigmatized for aesthetic reasons. Furthermore, its association with health
problems was only recently recognized in the twentieth century (Eknoyan 421). The term that
was once only used to define excessive fatness now defines something far more serious. Some of
the complications that are now associated with obesity are recognized to be a cause of ill health
and even mortality. Obesity has only been defined as a disease with pathologic and physiological
complications for about a century, yet this public-health crisis has increased so rapidly over the
past 60 years that the World Health Organization has declared it a global epidemic (Eknoyan
421). According to Eknoyan, obesity is a chronic disease like cardiac and respiratory disease,
which are long lasting and cannot be cured; however, obesity is not a silent killer. People who
are victims of obesity have external symptoms such as weight gain that indicates an onset of
complications such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension that account for obesity’s morbidity and
mortality (Eknoyan 421). The leading cause of obesity is not an abundance of food; in fact, food
is simply a surface factor in the real cause of this problem. Today’s global industrialized world,
filled with immense knowledge, has made way for companies to manufacture so called “junk
food” and has given way to an uprising of fast food restaurants globally. These foods, which are
generally non-nutritional and unhealthy, are the leading cause of obesity today. Not only are
more and more people becoming obese, but people are becoming obese at younger and younger
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ages. While I introduce the problem of obesity as it affects both adults and children, this paper
will focus mainly on children. To aid in diminishing the rapid spread of obesity that is causing
not only major health problems but even death in adults and children alike, there needs to be
more regulations on what food manufacturers such as the fast food industry may use in their
products and at the same time, a change to the educational standards, to stress the importance of
healthy dietary choices to young children.
There are many health risks associated with being overweight and obese. When someone
is obese they experience not only
cosmetic problems, but have high
risks for many other health related
problems. Often times these health
risks arise because of excess body
mass. Obesity can be determined
using a body mass index (BMI),
which is a measurement of an
individual’s body fat based on
their age, weight, and height
(Defining
Obesity).
Overweight
To
be
and
considered
overweight an adult must have, “a
BMI between 25 and 29.9” and to
be considered obese an adult must Figure 1: Obesity and Associated Health Effects. Taken
from Health Coach Resource
have, “a BMI of 30 or higher”
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(Defining Overweight and Obesity). When adults are overweight or obese, they have a higher
chance for health problems such as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes,
sleep apnea and the like (What are the Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity). A more indepth understanding of the consequences of becoming overweight or experiencing obesity can be
seen in Figure 1, which directly pin-points where in the body one is affected when one is obese.
Some of the more deathly problems associated with obesity such as coronary heart disease is due
to build up of plaque inside the coronary arteries which block oxygen-rich blood to the heart,
leading to heart attack or heart failure (What are the Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity).
Type 2 Diabetes is another deathly disease associated with obesity in which the body’s blood
sugar level is too high, resulting in the inability of insulin to properly break down sugars, leading
to early death, heart disease, kidney disease, and even blindness. Obesity can cause even simple
disorders like sleep apnea where while one sleeps there are one or more pauses in breathing due
to fat buildup around the neck that narrow the airways, making it hard to breathe (What Are the
Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity). So many health problems associated with obesity
plague adults every year, but adults are not the only victims of this problem. In fact, these
negative effects of obesity have an even larger effect on children lives.
Being overweight and experiencing obesity is a serious complication in many children
and teenager’s lives. Obesity and its associated problems such as Type 2 Diabetes were
uncommon in children, but more and more children every year suffer from such diseases.
According to the article “Obese and Overweight Children and Adolescents: An Algorithmic
Clinical Approach,” over the past three decades, obesity in children and adolescents in developed
and developing countries has significantly increased, with an estimated “43 million” preschoolaged children in 2010 plagued by obesity (Alizadeh 621). In the United States alone, as Figure 2
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illustrates, the obesity trend among children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 19, has
significantly increased from
only about “5%” around
1971 to a high “20%” in
2010. This extraordinary
increase
of
obesity
in
children can be associated
to many causes, such as
Figure 2: Trends in Obesity Among Children and Adolescents,
Taken from CDC
physical
inactivity
genetics,
however
and
it
is
largely due to their diet and
eating habits, which manufacturers of such foods are to blame. Foods that are able to create such
harm in people are often referred to as junk food. Junk food is basically any calorie rich food that
lacks essential nutrients for the body and in fact, contains ingredients that are unhealthy to be
consumed (Ashakiran 8). Junk food comes in various categories such as chips and soda, but the
junk food category that has been the major cause of obesity is known as fast food.
Fast food restaurants are everywhere; they can be found in almost every plaza, between
major cross-streets, or even in the middle of nowhere. The term “fast food” means exactly what
it sounds like. It refers to food that can be quickly prepared with minimal preparation and served
quickly to consumers in restaurants. This relatively new phenomenon began in the 1950s when
the first McDonalds opened in San Bernardino, California less than 55 years ago (Fortuna 57).
McDonalds revolutionized the term fast food with their self-service “Speedee Service System”
which was then seen as the opportunity for “‘Working-class families [to] finally afford to feed
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their kids restaurant food’” (Schlosser 20). Ironically, what seemed beneficial then turned out to
be the main cause in this growing obesity epidemic. When fast food restaurants first took off in
the 1950s there was only about 600 establishments in the U.S, but as of 2010, most fast food
chains have gone international with an estimated 222,000 fast food restaurants in the U.S. alone
(Fortuna 57). This may seem like a great thing for the millions of busy, hard-working Americans
who do not have the time or money to spend at fancy restaurants or who do not have the time to
prepare real meals for their children, however the costs outweigh the gains.
The fast food industry is one of the leading causes of obesity in children. Critics of this
correlation have expressed that, “fast-food consumption is simply a byproduct of poor all-daylong dietary habits that originate in children’s homes” and are not the main cause of obesity (Fast
Food Not the Major Cause). However, this is not the case. In the 2004 documentary Super Size
Me, law professor of George Washington University, John F. Banzhaf III, expresses his expertise
of the fast food industry in this interview response:
I think there is a lot of focus on the fast food companies because they are
mentioned more than virtually all the other causes in most of the articles, books,
and studies about why [obesity] is a sudden epidemic. Again it can’t be the
neighborhood restaurants; we’ve had neighborhood restaurants for hundreds of
years. It can’t be the foods we eat at home, we’ve been eating at home for
hundreds of years. Something is very different…I think in terms of responsibility,
it is fair to point the big gun at McDonalds. (Super Size Me)
In concordance with his expertise, the graph in Figure 2 is able to show that the rise of the fast
food industry and the rise of obesity rates in children are in fact related. Obesity rates in children
were pretty steady at around “5%” between the 1970s and 1980s, and it was not until “the
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leading fast food chains spread nationwide between 1960 and 1973, [with] the number of
McDonald’s restaurants [growing rapidly] from roughly 250 to 3,000,” that obesity rates began
to increase exponentially into 2010 at a high “20%” (Schlosser 24). The rise in obesity rates in
children can also be associated to the fast food industry because the fast food industry is
notorious for targeting children. According to Isabelle Taft, contributing reporter of Yale News,
researchers found that just six fast food companies are responsible for over 70 percent of all
television ads viewed by children and teens, and they spend about $4.6 billion on advertising a
year (Taft). John F. Banzhaf III, also stated in his Super Size Me interview, that:
McDonalds is one of the biggest, but more importantly it is the one with far more
than all the others, who lures in young children. They have the…closed in-door
playgrounds…so even at two and three and four those kids are being lured into
there. McDonalds is very heavy on birthday parties, they of course pioneered the
happy meals…with the little, gotta have’em toys…and of course…McDonalds is
the clown, a lot of these adds appeals primarily to kids. (Super Size Me)
For these reasons alone, it cannot be just a coincidence that the rising childhood obesity epidemic
came shortly after the rise of hundreds of thousands of fast food restaurants. Of course,
advertising is not the only technique used by big corporations like McDonalds to lure children
into wanting to eat their food. A major technique that needs to be changed and that most fast
food companies use is the manipulation of harmful and addicting ingredients in the products that
they sell.
Fast food, like any other kind of junk food, has no nutritional value, causing negative
effects on health. Fast food contains ingredients such as oil, sugar, salt, and fats, which are also
present in junk food. The use of these ingredients makes the food taste better; however, high
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proportions of these ingredients can lead to both negative short-term and long-term effects.
According to Dr. Ashakiran in his article, “Junk Foods and their Impact on Health,” some shortterm and long-term effects are as follows:
Cholesterol and salt are known to setoff blood pressure, stroke, and heart
disease…excessive salts can affect functioning of kidneys…junk meal rich in
oil…[causes] drowsiness and failure to concentrate…eating [these foods] over a
substantial
period
of
time
can
drop
blood
circulation
due
to
fat
accumulation...and…most of the times these junk foods contain colours, which
are often inedible, carcinogenic, and harmful to the body. (Ashakiran 10)
To stress the negative affects of fast food, Figure 3 illustrates the effects that these ingredients
can cause on children’s health. A
regular intake of these ingredients is
healthy;
for
example,
the
recommended limit of salt intake for
an average person is “2,200mg” a day
(The Dangers of Eating Fast Food).
However, excessive intake is not
healthy. For example, in just one
McDonald’s breakfast bagel, there is
about “1,520mg of sodium”, which is
Figure 3: Complications of
Taken from ibosocial.com
Childhood Obesity,
more than half of the recommended sodium intake (The Dangers of Eating Fast Food). In
addition to McDonalds, whose foods contain a high content of non-nutritional elements, fast
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food chains such as Burger King, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut also have foods that contain similar
ingredients.
Fast foods not only have no nutritional value, but are also addicting, contributing to the
obesity epidemic. Along with the health risks noted by Dr. Ashakiran regarding the negative
effects of excessive intake of such ingredients, the ingredients are shown to cause dopaminedriven surges of intense pleasure that become addicting due to the high amounts of fats and
sugars (Ashakiran 9). However, critics such as Gabriel Harris, an assistant professor of food
science, expresses that, “we are biologically wired to respond to certain tastes, textures, and
colors, but that doesn’t mean it’s an addiction” and Joan Salge Blake, a nutrition teacher at
Boston University argues that “sweets and treats have been around forever...the problem isn’t so
much these foods, but the frequency that we allow them to be part of our diet” (Thrasybule).
Granted, both claims may be valid; however, most fast foods contain high amounts of fats and
sugars that far exceed those in normal “sweets and treats.” Despite their opposition, according to
Joshua Gowin, who has a Ph.D. in psychology, “nearly everything on McDonald’s menu
contains…sugar, from the drinks to the…hamburger buns and fries…just as you can develop a
physiological and psychological dependence on cocaine, you can become dependent on sugar”
(Gowin). The pleasure one feels from the dopamine-driven surges can cause one to continue
consuming fast food items. Children want to eat fast food because it is tasty, and they have urges
to continue eating it because the ingredients make the food addicting. All these factors have
made fast food a major contributor to the rising obesity epidemic, with children as the main
victims, signaling the need for stricter regulations on the ingredients that fast food chains can
use. These regulations should require fast food chains to use more nutritional ingredients in their
food items and provide healthier choices on their menus. However, regulations are not enough to
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prevent obesity from spreading. Such regulations need to be enacted along with laws that will
alter the educational standards for children to help them learn about health earlier on in life. If
fast food chains are able to provide healthier alternatives at the same time that children are being
educated in healthier dietary choices, then it would be doubly effective in eliminating childhood
obesity.
On that note, it took multiple court challenges against fast food companies to bring
attention to the harmful effects of their foods. It was not until litigations were brought against
The McDonald’s Corporation by a group of obese children seeking compensation for their
obesity-related health problems, in the case of Pelman v. McDonald’s in 2002, that the media
started to report on the possible harms of fast food” (Mello). Pelman argued that McDonalds
failed to warn customers of the hazards associated with their products and that “if the dangers
were ‘open and obvious,’” then consumers cannot blame McDonalds for their food choices,
however McDonalds failed to provide customers with such information (Mellow). Pelman also
argued that even if such “generalized knowledge” was provided it cannot be applied to children
(Mello). McDonalds lawyers refuted that claim by bringing up prior law cases that presumed
minors to have knowledge of common known dangers of alcohol (Mello). However, the flaw in
McDonald’s argument is that just because children are aware of the harms of alcohol, does not
mean they understand the possible dangers associated with fast foods. There are multiple
programs that schools use to educate children against alcohol and drug abuse such as the
D.A.R.E program, but there is rarely any program that educates children against the dangers of
unhealthy dietary choices. In addition, the health effects of alcohol are more visible and even
though alcohol can be detrimental, the health effects of fast food are more invisible and more
dangerous in a large scale. It was not until multiple court challenges against these restaurants
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that, “the first jurisdiction in the United States…[requiring] restaurant chains to
post…information on menus,” was enacted, in 2008 (Dumanovsky 2520). Even then, only
“27%” of the surveyed individuals who reported to see the nutritional information reported that
they used the information to make their menu choices, as Figure 4 illustrates (Dumanovsky
Figure 4: Pre- and Post- Enforcement of Nutritional Value on Menus, Taken from
Consumer Awareness of Fast Food
2520). The low effect produced is largely due to the fact that people, especially children, are
unaware of what the nutritional facts actually mean.
Regulations on the ingredients that food manufacturers are able to use will help control
the childhood obesity epidemic. Even with laws mandating fast food chains to provide
consumers with nutritional information regarding their foods and, “extensive regulations
governing certain areas of food processing…scant data [is] available to the public about what
really goes into some of their favorite restaurant meals. And what information is
available…often omits crucial details” and “when asked for the composition of…their own
dishes, most of the nearly 20 chains…declined to share numbers” (Bialik). Taco Bell recently
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faced lawsuits accusing them of using substitute meat as real beef in their tacos, which led to
attempts by food-testing laboratories to test for the whole food contents (Bialik). However, with
knowledge of only part of the ingredients used, it is hard for scientists to know for sure what
ingredients are present in these foods, but this also proves that fast food restaurants are guilty of
using ingredients that they cannot reveal to the public. This fact, again, reinforces the idea that it
is up to the government to mandate fast food companies to use healthier ingredients in making
their foods. If it is difficult for professional scientists to reveal the true ingredients used in fast
food, how does one expect adults, let alone children, to understand the dangers of fast food,
especially without proper education regarding the harms of the ingredients used.
Children should not be accountable for knowing the dangers of eating fast food because
they lack the proper education that enables them to clearly distinguish between good and bad
dietary choices. I believe that a change in the educational standards to stress health education
earlier on in child development will help children realize the harms of the long-term
consumption of fast food. Studies reveal that consumption of fast food can lead to a variety of
health issues such as vulnerability to slow growth, tooth decay, obesity, the clogging of arteries
at early ages, and risks of prostate and breast cancer linked to the bad eating habits by the time
puberty hits (Ashakiran 11). This has unfortunately become an inevitable reality among many
children due to the growing fast food industry and the lack of nutritional education provided for
youths. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed in 2010, which focuses on schools as the
setting for obesity prevention (Nihiser 27). Michelle Obama established one of the first major
campaigns, the Let’s Move campaign, to target childhood obesity in support of this act (Nihiser
27). According to Allison Nihiser, The Let’s Move campaign aims to provide healthier foods in
schools and help children become more physically active. The Let’s Move Salad Bars in Schools
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program, a by-product of the Let’s Move campaign, requires school meals to offers less sodium
and trans fats meals and ensure stronger nutritional standards for all foods and beverages sold
(Nihiser). However, since the campaign took off, it has met many critics. According to reporter
Von Diaz of Color Lines News for Action, critics have said that the standards for the meals have
been too strict and that students are not eating the meals because they are not palatable, which
has led many districts to drop the program altogether (Diaz). Even though the success rate has
not been quite as high as hoped, and critics have voiced their opinions that these types of
programs will not work, I believe that it still can. The Let’s Move Salad Bars in Schools initiative
has the right intentions however, it has not taken into account that these children have grown up
eating tasty non-nutritional foods and cannot be forced to suddenly change their palates. Children
need to be educated in the good that healthy foods can bring and the bad that non-nutritional junk
food brings, at younger ages, and introduced to healthy foods at the same time. I advocate for a
stricter educational standard that regards health as a more important topic to be taught to children
at younger ages, so that children can be more aware of their dietary habits. This will then harbor
future teenagers that will be more open to healthier alternatives when they enter middle and high
school. Immediate progress is most likely not possible, however with time, obesity can be
controlled. I believe that starting children off young will be more beneficial that bombarding
teenagers with an all across the board healthy menu.
A combination of a stricter educational standard that stresses healthy dietary choices and
regulations mandating healthier ingredients in manufactured foods is the solution to controlling
obesity. There is a strict relation between the rise of the fast food industry and the increasing
number of children who become obese. In today’s society, where large food corporations have
the ability to hire scientists to manipulate chemical ingredients to make their foods tasty and
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addicting; and to pour money into creating advertisements and gimmicks to appeal to children,
there is no doubt that obesity rates will continue to soar. To help the future of our society, we
need to educate children about the harms of bad dietary foods and about harmful ingredients so
they have the ability to refuse the temptation evoked by the fast food industry. More and more
children and adults every year are suffering because of obesity and its related health problems
that if measures are not taken to resolve this issue, soon the majority of the population will
become obese. If both changes can be made alongside each other, the obesity epidemic should
decrease exponentially. These changes are not expected to have immediate results but will take
over the course of many years, for positive results to occur. These changes are not expected to
immediately alter the minds and palates of children and adults but to slowly introduce healthy
alternatives. These changes are not expected to completely wipe out the fast food and junk food
industries, but to have them cooperate and provide healthier alternatives. If obesity was once not
a fatal issue, then we have the power to reverse the effect it has had on people today.
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Works Cited
Alizadeh, Zahra, Shahrzad Khosravi, and Sima Borna. "Obese and Overweight Children and
Adolescents: An Algorithmic Clinical Approach." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO,
Dec. 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
Ashakiran, and Deepthi Kiran. "Junk Foods and Their Impact on Health." Academic Search
Complete. EBSCO, Dec. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. Dr. Ashakiran S. and Deepthi Kiran,
affiliated with the Department of Biochemistry and Department of Community Medicine
at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College in India, argue that the increase consumption of junk
food, largely influenced by globalization and urbanization, have contributed to a negative
affect on health, on a global scale. This is an online article published in the Journal of
Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences University. To support their claims, they provide
an abundance of health related facts and statistics on demographics and nutritional facts
to analyze and explain the negative impacts of junk food. The audience of this article can
be narrowed down to those researching about junk foods and its related health effects or
government officials trying to address this issue.
Bialik, Carl. "With Fast Food, It's Tough to Sort the Beef From the Chaff." The Wall Street
Journal. N.p., 12 Feb. 2011. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
<http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB100014240527487037868045761382311916064
82>.
"Defining Overweight and Obesity." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Apr. 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html>.
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Diaz, Von. "What Ever Happened to Michelle Obama’s School Lunch Program?" Color Lines:
News for Action. N.p., 9 Sept. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
<http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/09/what_ever_happened_to_michelle_obamas_lunc
h_program.html>.
Dumanovsky, Tamara, Christina Y. Huang, Mary T. Bassett, and Lynn D. Silver. "Consumer
Awareness of Fast-Food Calorie Information in New York City After Implementation of
a Menu Labeling Regulation." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, Dec. 2010. Web. 1
Mar. 2014.
Eknoyan, Garabed. "A History of Obesity, or How What Was Good Became Ugly and Then
Bad." Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease. Elsevier Inc, 2006. Web. 19 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.ackdjournal.org/article/S1548-5595(06)00106-6/abstract>. Garabed
Eknoyan, professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, argues that there are
direct associations with obesity and other death causing health problems like kidney
disease. This is an online article featured by the National Kidney Foundation. Eknoyan
uses a multitude of evidence to support his claim; he begins with information on the
historical background of obesity and goes on to provide statistical data and medical facts
regarding the harm associated with obesity. The primary audience for this article seem to
be academic scholars and medical personnel, however it seems that researchers and
government officials may also be targeted in hopes of addressing the ongoing issues
associated with obesity.
"Fast Food Not the Major Cause of Rising Childhood Obesity Rates, Study Finds." ScienceDaily.
ScienceDaily, 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140115132750.htm>.
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Figure 1. N.d. Photograph. The inside View of Obesity Can Inspire Change! 21 Nov. 2012. Web.
28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.healthcoachresource.com/2012/11/the-inside-view-ofobesity-can-inspire.html>.
Figure 2. N.d. Graph. NCHS Health E-Stat. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 13 Sept.
2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. <http://www.healthcoachresource.com/2012/11/the-insideview-of-obesity-can-inspire.html>.
Figure 3. N.d. Photograph. What Diseases Are Obese Children at Risk For. 14 July 2013. Web.
2 Mar. 2014. <http://www.ibosocial.com/Marisha/pressrelease.aspx?prid=283191>.
Figure 4. N.d. Graph. Consumer Awareness of Fast-Food Calorie Information in New York City
After Implementation of a Menu Labeling Regulation. 2522. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Fortuna, Jeffrey L. "The Obesity Epidemic and Food Addiction: Clinical Similarities to Drug
Dependence." Academic Search Complete. EBSCO, Mar. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.
Jeffrey L. Fortuna, doctor of Public Health with advanced training in nutrition,
pharmacology, and neurochemistry, asserts that a number of environmental factors have
contributed to the obesity epidemic and examines the similarities and differences between
this type of food addition and drug dependence. This is an online article published
through Journal of Psychoactive Drugs. In order to prove the severity of the obesity
epidemic, Fortuna utilizes compare and contrast data analysis, food nutritional facts, and
clinical studies to express the impact of food addiction towards the epidemic. The
intended audience can be narrowed down to those studying and researching obesity as
well as the governmental officials and health organizations to address the epidemic.
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Gowin, Joshua. "7 Things McDonald's Knows About Your Brain." Psychology Today. 8 Aug.
2011.
Web.
02
Mar.
2014.
<http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/you-
illuminated/201108/7-things-mcdonald-s-knows-about-your-brain>.
Mello, Michelle M., Eric B. Rimm, and David M. Studdert. "The McLawsuit: The Fast-Food
Industry And Legal Accountability For Obesity." Health Affairs. Harvard School of
Public Health, Nov. 2003. Web. 2 Mar. 2014.
<http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/22/6/207.full>.
Nihiser, Allison, Caitlin Merlo, and Sarah Lee. "Preventing Obesity through Schools." Academic
Search Complete. EBSCO, 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2014.
Schlosser, Eric. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 2002. Print.
Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. Samuel Goldwyn Films and
Roadside Attractions, 2004. Documentary.
Taft, Isabelle. "Fast Food Ads Continue to Target Children." Yale Daily News. 12 Nov. 2013.
Web. 19 Feb. 2014. <http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/11/12/fast-food-ads-continueto-target-children/>.
"The Dangers of Eating Fast Food." The Heart Links Project. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
<http://www.stonybrook.edu/heartlinks/fastfooddangers.pdf>.
Thrasybule, Linda. "Junk Food Might Not Be Addictive, after All." Fox News. FOX News
Network, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 02 Mar. 2014.
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"What Are the Health Risks of Overweight and Obesity?" National Heart, Lung, and Blood
Institute. 13 July 2012. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. <http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/healthtopics/topics/obe/risks.html>.
Zhao, Emmeline. "Fattest Country In The World: Are Schools To Blame For America's Obesity
Epidemic?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 11 Feb.
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Revising Reflection:
Most people are aware that eating healthy is good, but no one really knows why
eating unhealthy is bad. For this reason, I was curious about obesity. I wanted to know why
it was so bad to eat junk food. This composition not only allowed me to research and
understand obesity, but it also allowed me to refine the skills that I learned from
composition one. Because we had so much time to research, draft, and revise this
composition, I feel like I was able to include more information into my paper, to have better
analysis of my sources, and to fully develop my solutions and arguments. I think I did a
good job of incorporating different multimodal sources and analyzing different aspects of
my argument to counter-attack opposing ideas. I feel like there is room for improvement in
the way I word certain things and my overall flow throughout the paper. For revisions, I
read my paper as a whole and re-outlined every aspect to see where everything currently
resided. From there, I was able to see if I was missing any crucial information that would
help my argument. Then I went back to the drawing board, did more research, and
incorporated my findings. After I felt like I had stated everything that I wanted to say to
support my argument and solutions, I re-read the paper from top to bottom and fixed any
grammatical, spelling, or wording errors. Overall I believe I am submitting an almost
perfect paper, with enough information for my audience to actually learn something new,
and hopefully with enough impact that it will change how they look at fast food in the
future. I think the best part of my paper is my transition from discussing one solution of
mandating healthier ingredients in fast foods to the need for stricter educational standards
to teach children about such ingredients because I feel like these solutions go hand in hand.
I think the worst part of my paper is any possible repetition, which I tried my best to
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eliminate. I really enjoyed writing this paper and I believe the one thing I will remember
about this paper, is the amount of time I put into researching this topic and that working on
the paper a little everyday really does wonders. Based on the time and effort I put into this
composition, I believe I deserve an A.