Within past decades and the unequivocal heyday of fast food, obesity has become an undoubted issue for America, as well as other countries across the world. In terms of how to solve this issue, the majority of people are split on whether the government should have an active part in health regulation. Michelle Obama, who gave her statement in her, Remarks to the NAACP National Convention, as well as others such as Tim Minchin in his song, Fat Children, believe that one’s weight is a personal issue that should be solved socially, devoid of government interaction. In addition to their belief in trying to solve the obesity epidemic with creating an increased sense of social responsibility, they also make use of popular culture to aid in their points. …show more content…
Satire, for instance, is a form of comedy meant to imitate the irks of society in an attempt to show the general public why those irks are problematic. It can be conveyed through any means, such as by doing stand-up, television specials, writing novels or songs, etc. Tim Minchin is a man who has relied heavily on the latter. His work depicts a raunch and generally pessimistic view on a wide variety of topics, including the obesity epidemic. In his song Fat Children, he sings, "It's tantamount to child abuse, Kick them off the couch, Unplug the Playstation, Send them down to the park, If they don't wanna go, make 'em" (Minchin lyrics 55-62). He uses his influence from a standpoint capable of reaching a wide and diverse audience, similar to what Michelle Obama is doing to promote healthy living and eating. Additionally, during an interview with an Australian podcast called The Skeptic Zone, he further elaborated that, "Your defenses are down when you're laughing as well and it's couched in music. All I'm doing is making things consumable that are otherwise difficult to consume" (Minchin The Skeptic Zone). While far more candid than Obama, they both represent similar ideals and have used their influence to attempt to make a change. Although the methodology used by Minchin as well as numerous other comedians throughout the decades is more-so sarcastic than someone with Michelle Obama’s vigor, Minchin stated …show more content…
Essentially, the debate is whether body weight recognition should be a social or federal issue. Although Michelle Obama has proven to be an influential member of government, before and after President Obama’s inauguration, she states in her address that her opinion is more so the former. When speaking on the topic of obesity in African-American communities and America in general, she said, “We can offer people the best health care money can buy, but if they’re still leading unhealthy lives, then we’ll still just be treating those diseases and conditions once they’ve developed rather than keeping people from getting sick in the first place” (Obama 424). She believes that the only true way to solve the current obesity epidemic is to promote healthy thinking and an increased sense of responsibility for our bodies. If the government creates a direct link between itself and the well-being of its citizens, there would be no social change aside from the government treating diseases that could have been avoided if the common man ate a carrot instead of a cake. Additionally, if the American government, for example, were to go to extreme lengths to ban unhealthy foods or to create excessive taxes based on calorie count, the American people would probably create a repeat of Prohibition, except fast food would be the clandestine
Chris Lilley's Summer Heights High is a highly controversial mockumentary that showcases 3 different over exaggerated characters. One of them is Jonah Takalua, a stereotypical Tongan delinquent. Many have praised his work, saying that it is a clever use of satire to convey important criticisms of today's society. However after learning about satire myself throughout this unit I have determined that Summer Heights High is an unsuitable and highly ineffective show for teaching satire in secondary school due to the high levels of crude language and stereotypical humour shown in Jonah that conceals the satirical techniques used. Jonah has been represented extremely ineffectively through the poor use of the satirical techniques of exaggerated caricature and ridicule which certainly have the potential to influence students negatively. Lilley’s social criticism of the view that all Polynesian students are seen as trouble makers, is lost by his overemphasis on the very behaviours he is satirising.
In the essay, “What You Eat is Your Business”, Radley Balko writes to tell his audience about how the government is trying to control people’s health and eating habits by restricting food, taxing high calorie food, and considering menu labeling. Balko includes in his essay that government restricting diets and having socialist insurance is not helping the obesity problem, but it is only making it worse because it not allowing people to take their health in to their own hands so they have no drive to lose weight or eat healthy. In his essay, Balko is targeting society, including those who may be obese, he is trying to show them that the laws our
“The Cato Institute’s” Policy analyst, Radley Balko, in his article “What You Eat Is Your Business,” talks about the idea of obesity and whose fault it is. Balko’s purpose is to convey the idea that obesity is the individual’s responsibility, not the government’s or anyone else’s for that matter. Ultimately, Balko’s “What You Eat Is Your Business” has a strong hold on ethos, pathos, and logos, making for a successful and persuasive article.
Our culture uses health and wellness with food to divide groups as well. Julier ("The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All") discusses how obesity vilifies certain groups and how poverty and obesity have a function in society, serving the industry and the economy. Julier says rhar obesity vilifies women, the poor, and people of color, groups of people that are already marginalized, and the stress of life as a marginalized group can lead to a disordered relationship with food. Americans are incredibly intolerant of individuals who have let themselves go, and get even angrier when those individuals don't do anything about it to get to the socially accepted normal: skinny (Mead "Why Do We Overeat?"). Julier ("The Political Economy of Obesity: The Fat Pay All") gives 13 political, economic, and cultural functions of poverty and obesity, one of them being the idea that when fatness is related to irresponsible behavior, those who aren't fat and stick to the socially constructed normal of thin are able to maintain and create public agenda to control and vilify the obese and overweight.
Ask any person on the street what is the one issue that consumes more than half of the nation and the answers will vary from cancer to the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Most Americans are blind to the modern day plague that consumes even the nation's youth. What is this black death that promises health complications in the future, obesity affects more than two-thirds of American adults and one-third of American children. The term obesity is defined as the condition of being grossly fat or overweight. The “American diet” of processed foods is the root of the problem. The nation's health conditions have declined since the 1970’s and reached an all time low in the early 2000’s. The solution lies within the 18-27 year olds of the country
Long ago, the ancestors of humans lived in unpredictable times in which meals were not guaranteed. Now in the 21st century, data suggests, as mentioned in Fed Up, that there will be more deaths caused directly or indirectly by obesity than by starvation. The documentary Fed Up focuses on the terrifying issue that plagues the United States and the world: obesity. It delves into the components that contribute to this menacing epidemic that only continues to get worse. The documentary builds on the stories of four young American children from all over the country that are severely obese. One of the kids, at 14 years of age, weighs over 400 pounds. Fed Up tries to answer one simple question with a complex and scary answer. How did the world get here? There are several different issues the documentary tried to address to answer this question. In the documentary, several misconceptions about food were dissected. In addition to debunking myths about food, the documentary discussed how it is possible to eat healthy for less money than eating unhealthy. Those were a few of the aspects that can have an impact on individuals, but the documentary did not stop there. It also attacked the huge food industry for their misleading advertisements and selling techniques, as well as condemning their focus of selling to younger people. Furthermore, the documentary explained how the food industry is so rich and powerful in the country’s capital that it has thwarted the many attempts in trying
Why does America have an obesity problem? Do we blame it on ourselves, the government, or the supermarket? It is obviously and individual’s responsibility to keep one’s self healthy, but are there ways the government can strive for an overall healthier diet for Americans? Can we change the manipulative ways of Super Markets and persuade them to look past profit? The American government should put in effort to provide a better dietary path for American citizens by working on motivating individuals to make better choices in their diet, pushing Super markets and industries to work together to lower prices of healthier foods, and placing policies and banning unhealthy ingredients in junk foods. It may not be the governments fault, but obesity is such a big issue in American culture that we need to make some major changes and the government is the only one who can make that happen.
Is there a huge health issue occurring in our country? Yes obesity is a quagmire that this country faces ; it causes many health issues and can lower quality of life. Obesity also manages to burden society, it effects everyone, the obese and the non obese. Although some extenuate the issue, believing that it does not to be addressed; obesity is a issue that cannot be ignored by society or the government.
This may seem a little alarmist to you, but childhood obesity in America is a big enough problem to warrant such a cry for help. Don't believe me? Take a look around and try to count how many obese children and parents you see while out and about during a normal day. Don't stare, but you might be astounded when you open your eyes and begin to look for the problem.
Obesity and being overweight Obesity/overweight issues need to be talked about among young women. I believe a woman can be and look beautiful at any weight. And just because someone is at a healthy weight does not necessarily mean they are healthy or just because someone is overweight, most people will automatically think it's because that person is a fatass or eat a lot, some people are overweight because of health issues or a slow metabolism. I also believe that everyone deserves respect and if a person has criticism; they can deliver it kindly. People think it's unimportant to talk about excessively overeating or binge eating.
For my satire project, I focused on the topic of Obesity for which to find a humorous solution. Today obesity is an exponential problem in the United States. Americans are evolving into the laziest humans in the world because we don’t want to work towards the goal of being fit; all we want to do is take a pill and wake up skinny in a week’s time. The industry for weight loss and its advertisement has gone way too far, and they are steering us in a bad direction. Likewise, my targeted audience would be the industry of diet planning and those who fall into the trap of “losing thirty pounds a month” with a formulated shake or pills. Given these points, my purpose for this assignment is to expose the ridiculousness of the weight loss plans in today’s
Obesity has rapidly emerged as a serious health issue in America. The cause of obesity results from America’s social injustices. Today, food advertisements are in all places promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Considering the great expense of healthy foods, low income families can barely afford fruits and vegetables. These two factors contribute to the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Unfortunately, it has taken an excessive amount of Americans to become obese for America to become aware of the issue and take action. Although obesity is still an increasing problem, America is fighting to reduce the number of obese citizens. As a result of low income and the media advertising unhealthy lifestyles, America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.
“If and when the public chooses to use government power to offset the factors that promote obesity, we can do so. A day may come when we decide to limit advertising of unhealthy food, strengthen lifestyle teaching in schools, and create stronger financial incentives to adhere to lifestyle recommendations. The more eager we the people are to fight the obesogenic environment, the more responsive and effective our governments will become” (Medscape General Medicine, vol. 9, no. 4, 2007).
Obesity is becoming one of the biggest problems in the country, but there has to be reasons for it. It can be the economy, society now, or people and companies. It’s time that our country starts to realize that we can’t live like this anymore. We need to see what is causing the sudden rise in obesity, and what we can do to fix it. Education of risks and solutions can be very helpful. Obesity is killing so many people, yet is still 100 percent avoidable. Our country is beginning to care less and really let themselves go. The fast food industry, supermarkets, and schools are the ones at fault for the spreading problem of obesity.
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.