Documentary

Argumentative Essay

Samantha Schoener

Ms. McKoy

English II

18 May 2012

Obesity on the Rise

Some of my friends ask me why I care so much about obesity rate. I always have the same answer for them. I have never been one of those "skinny" girls, but I always have tried to stay healthy. Getting older now I have realized what I need to do to take care of my body. I think that eating healthy is really important and children and teens these days really do not see that. They sit in front of TV and eat snacks all day. Studies from the National Center for Health Statistics now show that even school lunches are becoming unhealthy. This is another reason why our obesity rates keep growing. I really want to show kids and young adults that eating healthy and staying fit can be better for you in the long run. Taking responsibility for our health early can help you when you get older. With obesity, many health problems arise. Those problems can be life threatening. I want young adults to take charge of their health. I want to see that school lunches become healthier. I think that people need to realize that school lunches are not healthy. Portions need to be managed, along with what is being put into school lunches. As a nation it is up to us to come up with solutions to fix high obesity rates. School lunches impact children and young adults by large portion size, unhealthy ingredients, and poor choices of foods.

Poor choices of foods are being made in our cafeterias right as we speak. In the text “Child and Adolescent Obesity: Why We Need to Fight!” Flodmarks explains that obesity is a major health problem among teens today.  School-based programs in areas have very limited success. “Obesity is well-recognized disease, and childhood obesity is a long-term risk factor for adult morbidity and social disabilities.” (Flodmarks) The authors’ position on this is very important because he explains to America that we have an increasing disease. “whether genetic of not, childhood obesity can be attacked.”(Bankhead)  Providing healthy alternatives, we can make sure that children and teens are eating healthy. This allowed me to answer the question why  schools are allowed to serve the types of food that they do. Allowing this to continue can increase what is already a high amount of children and young adults that are already obese. Schools are serving French fries, pizza, and even more unhealthy food options. All of these foods have high calories and lots of carbohydrates, too many is not good for the human body. 

            Our government is now working on a program that helps with portion size and the ingredients that are being put into the lunches. Now because of a little help from our Capital we have created a program that gets children eating healthy. Our first lady Michelle Obama has been working with the government to help create special lunch plans for students. “An additional 10 billion over ten years… with this investment, additional fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products will be served in our school cafeterias…” (Obama) This shows that our government is taking action into student’s health and their future. In my surveys, I asked several people whether the government was at fault for the high obesity rates. (Schoener 2) The majority of my respondents said that the government was at fault for such high rates, but according to the information introduced earlier in the paragraph, that is not the case.

            The high rise in obesity rates is now showing that portion size and ingredients are not where they should be. In the state of South Carolina, our obesity rates are very high reaching from 15 to 20 percent of children obese.(See figure 1) If you look at the rest of the country’s rates you can see that the high obesity trend continues. There are even eight states that have an obesity rate from 20 to 25 percent. “According to the recent study of Philadelphia high school students, 14 percent of all American teens are obese.”(“Huffington Post”) This high amount is on a continue rise and school lunches play a big part. “Rarely demonstrate sustained behavioral change or positive impacts on youth weight.” (Daratha) These high trends continue to rise, creating a disease crossing the nation. Parents should be aware of what schools are serving to their children. The obesity epidemic creates major health problems such as diabetes.     

            Child and teen obesity have become a nationwide problem effecting millions. School lunches have been the biggest problem. We really need to reach out to young adults to show them proper eating habits, to insure a better future. We need to inform kids and teens of this epidemic, so they know what they are doing to their bodies.  School lunches need to become healthier with better portion control and better ingredients in the lunches. A program named “Project Healthy Schools” has five main goals: “Increase intake of fruits and vegetables, reduce consumption of fatty foods and fast food, reduce consumption of sugar-containing beverages, increase physical activity, and reduce sedentary behaviors.”(Bankhead) Childhood obesity can be taken care of and by working with different programs school lunches can become healthier. “The intervention included a variety of educational materials and modifications of environmental factors in the schools, such as school lunches, items stocked in campus vending machines...”(Bankhead) Just these little changes can make a big difference in a child’s health. Helping the obesity rates starts with improving our school lunches.

           

Figure 1

Works Cited

Adult Obesity Rates and Child Obesity Rates. 2010. Photograph. Peter KWeb. 29 Mar 2012. <http://peterkfitness.com/blog/kidsteens-health/childhood-obesity-and-heres-the-bad-news-in-case-you-didnt-know/attachment/childhood-obesity-graph-2/>.

Childhood Obesity." medpage Today. N.p., 31/01/2011. Web. 19 May 2012. <http://www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/Obesity/24616>

  Flodmark, Carl-Erik, Inge Lissau, and Angelo Pietrobelli. "Child And Adolescent Obesity: Why We Need To Fight!." Acta Paediatrica. Supplement 94.s448 (2005): 4-7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2012.

Kenneth B. Daratha, et al. "Obesity Prevention In Early Adolescence: Student, Parent, And Teacher Views." Journal Of School Health 80.1 (2010): 13-19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2012

Obama, Michelle, dir. "Lets Move" Kick-off. The White House, 2010. Web. 14 May 2012. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/let-s-move-kick

Robison, Jennifer. "Teens' Views Offer Insight Into "Obesity Epidemic." Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing (2002): 1. Business Source Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2012.

. "Teen Obesity: Is Lack Of Education The Real Cause?."The Huffington Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/teen-obesity>.

Annotated Bibliography

"Teens' Views Offer Insight Into "Obesity Epidemic."
Paragraph One
Jennifer Robinson argues that the number of overweight kids in the United States has double in the last 20 years. She claims that overweight kids are beset with problems not just physical but also emotional. Robinson develops this claim by first explaining to us that television has played a major role in why we are obese. Robinson explains to us that it bombards them with ads for juck food, which then diverts them from what they are eating. Lastly the author explains to us that schools and parents are starting to notice. Jennifer Robinson’s purpose is to inform us about the heath ricks, and the emotional toll on children. He does this in order to create a better future for children.
Paragraph Two
The author of this article does not state her occupation. I believe that this author has no official recantation regarding the topic of child and teen obesity. I believe that the author was able to find the evidence to support her issue but has not conducted the research herself. I believe that this is subjective. I think that the author uses strong bias. I believe this by that way she argues about this issue. I think she leaves out the information specifically about the schools and the way the lunches are at the school. I believe that she left this out becuase she was not fully aware of what schools are serving during lunch.I think that this research assisted me but it is not as strong as my second article. I think that the target audience was parents that have children that are obese.
"Obesity Prevention In Early Adolescence: Student, Parent, And Teacher Views."
Paragraph One
Tomas Power, Ruth Bindler, Summer Goetz, and Kenneth Daratha argue that obesity is a major health problem among today’s youth. They claim that most school-based programs in areas have limited success. The authors develop this claim by the information they have gotten from focus groups that were created. The authors inform us by saying that approximately 17 percent of us youth is overweight. Another 16 percent are at risk of becoming over weight. The authors purpose is to imform americans that teens are over weight. In order to get children heathly we need to provide heathly alternatives.
Paragraph Two

The authors’ connection to the topic is close. They are studying the effects of teen and child obesity. I believe that their opinions could be put into their work but the academic article is mainly facts and data that they have collected.  I believe that there is much evidence in this article. I believe so because it shows us the data and work that they had collected during the experiment. This article is objective. The author included tables and numbers that were collected during the experiment. The source can be useful for many health scientists and may be useful to some doctors in this field of study. This research has greatly helped me. I was able to take much information and use it for key points. It really answered many of my research questions.  

"Child And Adolescent Obesity: Why We Need To Fight!."
Paragraph One
The author agrues that obesity is a well-reconized disease. He claims that obesity has long-term risk factor that can lead into adulthood. He devleops his cliam by expaining that there are cardiovascular risk facters to obese children. He then expalins that there is an increased risk of mortality from obesity. Lastly the author expains the increased risk of type two diabetes that can come with being obese. The author’s purpose is to expalin that there are many health risks that can come from being obese.
Paragraph Two

The author connects to the topic not as greatly as my second article. I believe that the authors bias is more heavily stated in this article. There is sold evidence and is supported by facts. I think the author was trying to get their point across rather than actually paying attention to the issue at hand. This article is subjective. The author includes facts such as the percentage of teens and children obese. He also explains that risk of morality and the risk for diabetes. I think the article would be useful to teachers that are trying to show children the risk of obesity. This article gave me very little information. I believe that this article has given me the least information.

Works Cited for Articles
Flodmark, Carl-Erik, Inge Lissau, and Angelo Pietrobelli. "Child And Adolescent Obesity: Why We Need To Fight!." Acta Paediatrica. Supplement 94.s448 (2005): 4-7. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2012.

Kenneth B. Daratha, et al. "Obesity Prevention In Early Adolescence: Student, Parent, And Teacher Views." Journal Of School Health 80.1 (2010): 13-19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2012

Robison, Jennifer. "Teens' Views Offer Insight Into "Obesity Epidemic." Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing (2002): 1. Business Source Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2012.

Child Obesity Rates By State

In this graph you can see that every state has a large obesity rate. It has been proven that 80 percent of people are aware of childhood obesity and realize that it is a growing problem. Nearly one-third of children are over weight. 80 percent of parents have said that they think their child is a healthy weight. Every state has an obesity rate and it is proven in the graph that children are obese. In the state of South Carolina it shows that 15 to 20 percent of children are obese. There are even states where 20 to 25 percent of children are obese.


Adult Obesity Rates and Child Obesity Rates. 2010. Photograph. Peter KWeb. 29 Mar 2012. <http://peterkfitness.com/blog/kidsteens-health/childhood-obesity-and-heres-the-bad-news-in-case-you-didnt-know/attachment/childhood-obesity-graph-2/>.

Essential Questions

I chose this topic to show people that this really is a problem. I am really passionite about this topic. This is a big problem and people need to see that. There are many health risks that come with being obese. Life being obese can be very difficult. These questions relate to my topic, and can exlain many things that we do not understand.

1. How are schools providing lunches that are unhealthy for children?
2. What types of foods should schools be serving at lunch?
3. Should the government get involved in what schools are allowed to serve at lunch?
4. Why do schools serve lunches that are unhealthy?
5. Which type of foods are schools allowed serve, are their any alternatives?

Research Memo 1

Teens vs. Food

Hypothesis:

Many do not realize that the children and teen obesity is a problem in our country. According to state health facts, in the state of South Carolina we are 7^th in the nation for having the highest obesity rate. This is outrageous! That is why I am asking  if schools are responsible for these high numbers. We should be eating healthier, even in schools. Kids and teens are spending most of their day at school. Therefore, they should be eating healthier at schools. Kids and teens are given unhealthy food options.

Context:

Child and teen obesity rates are on the rise, but are school lunches to blame? My Goal is to target families and students with my survey. I want to see what parents and children see in their school lunches. With their input we can analyze what others think and will be able to support that lunches are helping the children and teen obesity rates.

Results:

Survey Questions	Children and Teenagers 10 to 18 years of age	Adults 19 to 50 years of age
Is child obesity and important topic in Horry County?	12 of 14 said that they think this is an important topic.	9 of  11 said that they think this is an important topic.
If you were to go up to a vending machine and  had the choice between a piece of fruit and a bag of chips, which would you choose?	8 of 14 said they would choose a bag of chips	8 of 11 said they would choose a bag of chips.
Schools should provide healthy school lunches.	14 of 14 said yes to the statement.	9 of 11 said yes to the statement.
Do you think that school lunches are unhealthy?	10 of 14 said that school lunches are unhealthy.	8 of 11 said that school lunches are unhealthy.
Check all that apply: What do think a healthy lunch consist of?	All said that fruit and veggies. Kids also said granola was a healthy alternative.	All said fruit and veggies. Some others also said that a sandwich on whole grain bread is would be a healthy alternative.
Should parents and schools be aware of what children are eating?	Only one student said no. All others believe that they should be aware.	Only three adults said no to this question.
On a scale of 1 to 5, 1 being not important and 5 being very important , where do think the child/teen obesity rates stand?	Majority of students said that it is a 4.	Also adults said that it raged on a 4.
Do you believe the government is at fault for such high rates?	Most of students said they agree with this statement.	Most adults said they strongly agree with this statement.
If students were offered other healthy alternatives, would the obesity rates decrease?	There was an equal amount of students that said yes and no.	Most adults said no to this statement.

Data Analysis:

In my data, it is proven that people know what a healthy lunch is. One hundred percent of respondents said that vegetables and fruits are an important part of a lunch. Most also said that obesity is an important topic in Horry County. However, most would rather buy chips at a vending machine instead of fruit. This is proving that schools are providing unhealthy food options for kids today.  A major trend in my data was that kids and teens said that the government is at fault. Even the adults that took my survey said they strongly agree with the statement. This really surprised me. Another trend that caught my eye was the answers if the health options were changed.  Adults said that the obesity rates would not decrease, but an equal amount of students said that it would go either way. A respondent wrote on my survey saying that eating healthy also starts at home. This was an interesting fact to me.

Conclusion:

Many have realized that obesity is a problem here in the United States. It has been proven that students are eating unhealthy in schools, and this is causing the obesity rates to increase. Parents should know what their children are eating in school. We need to stay healthy as a whole, and this is not happening. 

Follow Up:

I plan to gather further information about my topic. I really want to see what other data there is out there. I would also like to conduct more surveys so my research has been presented correctly.  I want to show that this is a problem and that it can be fixed. I think that answering the question of who is responsible will also tell me a lot about my topic. I think that I would change the question about the government involvement and maybe rephrase the question. I believe that if I can find news reports and articles about the topic, it would really help.

Story Behind It All

Some of my friends ask me why I care so much about obesity rate. I always have the same answer for them. I have never been one of those "skinny" girls, but i always have tried to stay healthy. Getting older now i have realized what i need to do to take care of my body. I think that eatting healthy is really improtant and childen and teens these days really don't see that. They sit in front of tv and eat snacks all day. Studies are showing now that even school lunches are becoming unhealthy. Another reason why our obesity rates keep growing. I really want to show kids and young adults that eatting healthy and staying fit can be better for you in the long run. Taking responsibility for our health early can help you when you get older. With obesity comes health probelms and those problems can be life threatening. I want young adults to take charge of their health and stay health. I want to see that school lunches become healthier. I think that people need to realize that school lunches arn't healthy. Proportions need to be managed, along with what is being put into school lunches. We need to take charge of our schools!