Joanna Weiss
"Battling children’s obesity"
Are avocados good for you? What about plain cereal? Parental food myths are part of a larger problem in our culture
The Boston Globe
September 6, 2011
In Joanna Weiss’s “Battling children’s obesity,” she describes how children’s obesity is becoming an epidemic of sorts. Children’s obesity has one primary cause: the lack of nutritional education. Parents have the wrong ideas about what or what not to feed their children. She discusses the stigma of nutrition that the supermarkets and food industry display and how incorrect they are. Throughout the article, she quotes Dr. David Ludwig, who works at the child-obesity clinic at Children’s Hospital. Weiss follows the story of 10-year-old Ezra Fellman-Balu’s visit to Dr. Ludwig. In Ezra’s case, he was exercising regularly and eating what the majority of people think are healthy foods. However, Dr. Ludwig helped establish what foods Ezra should stick to and which foods he should shy away from eating. For example, Ezra typically ate pasta for dinner, so, Dr. Ludwig stated that pasta was a processed carbohydrate which “will make Ezra hungrier in the short term and heavier in the long term.” Joanna Weiss writes with a formal tone using specific claims and evidence to back these claims. She uses quotes and statistics from people of authority such as Dr. David Ludwig and Phil Edmundson, a Boston insurance company chief, to establish ethos. Weiss also incorporates short anecdotes of Ezra’s time while visiting Dr. Ludwig. She uses a contradictory, ironic idea at the beginning of the article, as she states that Dr. Ludwig offered Ezra a piece of chocolate during their appointment. She later describes that this was dark chocolate and was considered a health food. To conclude her article, she poses the question, “If someone came up to you on a street corner and told you that chocolate could help you lose weight, would you believe him?” This question ties the reader back to the beginning of the article while also picking the reader’s brain about the assumptions of fighting childhood obesity.
Comment for the author: Since this article was published in 2011, has advocating for a bill that would eliminate the sales tax exemption on sugar-sweetened beverages created any changes? Have the statistics of child obesity lessened or become greater?
ReplyDeleteThe article covers one of the major issues America is facing today. Weiss gains ethos within her article by describing the story of Ezra and how he and his family have tried to eat healthier. Ezra's unhealthy body is just one of the millions of obese people who face deadly diseases due to food companies and their false advertising when it comes to "safe" foods and "unhealthy" foods.
ReplyDeleteChild obesity is a prevalent problem and also a topic I see both social media and writers address. It has affected the whole world, but especially the United States. It is interesting to see how ignorant and naive people can be when it comes to believing certain foods are healthy or unhealthy. The purpose of this article is to inform those of the dangers of over eating, advise others to eat healthier, and expose and reform how advertising can influence one's eating habits.
ReplyDeleteThe author's use of the example from a real physician helps support his claim. With the support of a practicing physician, the author appeals to ethos. Even though the author may not be very qualified to discuss the topic, her claims are corroborated by a medical professional. This is enough to convince readers of what she is saying.
ReplyDelete