Body Image response to CR

Body image is not only perception of ourselves but perception of others compared to ourselves. If you don't feel accepted you probably wont have good self esteem which more that likely will translate into poor body-image and, on the other hand, if you are socially accepted you may have better body image. Obesity is such a wide-spread and common disease that it is becoming not only socially acceptable but also something to be proud of. The terms "fat and happy" or "large and in charge" are both things that reflect this attitude towards overweight people. On page 223 of Carolina Reader, Rosenwald quotes that his "girth also puts me [him] in familiar company, with about two-thirds of the U.S. population now considered overweight," which suggests that he is probably less motivated to loose weight when two of three people are over weight as well. Another reason society almost embraces obesity is because, due to our environment and lifestyle in America, it is an inevitable effect. With high fat foods, in large quantities, for low costs, it is viewed that we almost can't help weight gain so why eat a little bit of bad tasting, expensive food? In Rosenwald's essay, "Why America Has to Be Fat" he says that Tomas J. Philipson, an economic professor says that, "The obesity problem is really a side effect of things that are good for the economy." On the other hand, people are rebellious to the skin and bones body image that is evident in magazines, television commercials, and many other medias. If that is supposed to be the exampleof American body image it is almost impossible to accomplish without a lack of nutrition on the other side of the spectrum such as eating disorders. there is no clear line between the two, as long as you are happy with your personal body-image.

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Collins, Anne. "Causes of Obesity." Anne Collins. 13 Oct. 2007 http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/causes-of-obesity.htm.
This website was created by a woman named Anne Collins who directs obesity reduction programs. This personal website, though not very credible, contains information that Collins has observed directly among obese customers such as trends in foods they ate while growing up and what food they feed to their children as well as the correllation between inactivity and obesity. I have a lack of trust with this online source due to its informal nature and almost advertisement appearance. Though it is important to have a resource that has delt directly with "250,000 people" who are actually overweight, or so she claims. However, Collins valuable, observable information is good evidence to support a few different causes, or at least contributions, to gaining weight.

Cullen, Lisa T. "Not Too Rich or Too Thin: is a Healthy Diet Hard on the Wallet?" Time 1 Nov. 2007: 1.
In this article, Lisa Cullen links low prices with being over normal weight, or in other words, links high prices with being under normal weight. She says that in order to have a healthy, "quality" diet it costs a lot more money than it does to have large quantities of poor quality food which, she suggests, correllates to where these people live. Besides location increasing an unhealthy diet, Cullen says that schools are also adding to the problem by making junk food and soda available to children who ultimately learn bad eating habits. Lisa gives various reasons as to why children and adults alike aren't getting the proper nutrition they need whether it be school, location, or salary and how they are adding to already high percentages in the American obesity statistics.

"Economic Impact of Obesity." Obesity in America. The Endocrine Society. 13 Oct. 2007 .
This website (obesityinamerica.org) was created by The Endocrine Society and The Hormone Foundation in order to inform the American public of the facts, causes, effects, and treatments of obesity. This specific page describes a few of the economic effects of obesity and obesity related health problems and also gives astonishing statistics concerning annual monetary expenditures for obesity and its related effects. The importance of this page is to support how impactfull the effects of this disease truly are, not only on the body and health but also on the wallet.

"Geographic Breakdown." Obesity in America. The Endocrine Society. 13 Oct. 2007 http://www.obesityinamerics.org/geographic.html.
This website (obesityinamerica.org) was created by The Endocrine Society and The Hormone Foundation in order to inform the American public of the facts, causes, effects, and treatments of obesity. The "Geographic Breakdown" section of this website gives specific information regarding the trends of obesity rates in North America and the states where obesity is most prevelent. This page also gives data of obese people globally and, for example, how North America's obesity levels differ from other country's obesity levels. This page gives various statistics ranging from 1991 to 2001 to prove how obesity in America is relevent and is increasing over time. This page discourages obesity, not by using persuasive language but by simply stating the geographic facts of obesity in certain locations. And since my essay is based on the negative factors of obesity it will be very useful information when dicsussing the geographic trends in America and how they compare to other countries and, unfortunately, the obvious increase in obese people in the United States.

Lemonick, Michael D. "How We Grew So Big." Time 07 June 2004: 1-4.
This particular article from Time Magazine describes how genetic factors of surving and living in the paleolithic era are the same factors that are causing the public to gain weight today. This weight gain is due to the obvious differences between the 21st century and 50,000 years ago such as environment, eating habits, and lifetyles. Michael Lemonick describes in painstaking detail how we used to live compared to our health habits today and how that has caused an excessive weight gain in America. Though he deeply describes human's eating habit 50,ooo years ago, it is relevent today because it suggests genetic influence over weight gain in addition to eating, excersicing, and the readibility of food (fast food)at low costs, all of which, he suggests, are causes of obesity in America.

Murphy, Jenny. "The Super-Sizing of America: are Fast Food Chains to Blame for the Nation's Obesity?" Speakout. 15 June 2000. 13 Oct. 2007 .
This article by Jenny Murphy is a personal response to obesity in America in the year 2000. Murphy focuses on fast food chains as the main reason for the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and says the reason is becuase fast food chains have such abnormally large portions compared to the recommended amount. She also provides statistics from the Washington Post, Guest Choice Network, The Nation, and Time magazine in order to support her peronal claim through credible sources. Although, Murphy's personal response was posted on an online opinion research companycalled, "Speakout," and doesn't exactly hold the best credibility, she was still writing about a problem that was relevent and noticable even in the year 2000. And seven years later the problem is only getting worse, which is evidence that two causes of obesity are fast food and portion size.

United States. National Office of Public Health Genomics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Department of Health and Human Services. Obesity and Genetics: a Public Health Perspective. 24 Oct. 2007
http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/training/perspectives/files/obesedit.htm.
This article is based on the genetic factors contributing to obesity. It develops the idea that obesity is not caused only by genes but suggests that genetics do play a role in being overweight. Considering this article was published on a public health website by the Department of Health and Human Services, it is scientific information provided for the general public in a non-biased manner. Due to these reasons, it is a credible source in understanding the scientific definition of obesity and how it is measured. This article also says that the same genes that we as humans once used to avoid starvation may be the same genes that are making us obese. This article also suggests that under the same environmental factors, different people are effected in different ways, which also indicates genetic effects on obesity. This source provides credible scientific support for the theory that genetics are influencing the obesity epidemic.

"Why are Some People Obese? - Trends in Obesity Research." Obesity in America. The Endocrine Society. 13 Oct. 2007 http://www.obesityinamerica.org/whyobesity.html.
This website (obesityinamerica.org) was created by The Endocrine Society and The Hormone Foundation in order to inform the American public of the facts, causes, effects, and treatments of obesity. This specific page describes different factors in the environment that reasearch has shown, contribute to higher liklihood of being obese. Some of these factors include, medications, portion size, fat intake, high fructose corn syrup, low levels of activity, and quiting smoking cigarettes. Because these are studied, credible contributions to obesity they will provide further evidence to some of the causes of obesity.

SWA #7

Three essays in Carolina Reader discuss some recent changes in the college population concerning religion, politics, and social class. Each article poses a casual argument that a specific aspect of college students is changing over time and each provide various reasons influencing these specific changes.
The first article, “Matters of Faith Find a New Prominence on Campus,” by Alan Finder was published in 2007 and argues that the number of college students involved in “active religious life,” as professor Gomes from Harvard University words it, is much higher than that of past numbers. Finder suggests that the religious based issues in politics such as abortion and war leave students asking questions and actively seeking answers. Another reason, he says, is the attacks of September 11th and how that had an “influence of religion on world affairs.” Another reason, he says, is that young people have grown up so nurtured and protected by their family and their environment that once they enter college life they don’t have the “resources” to handle traumatic events such as a suicide and some eventually turn to religious exploration. Finder, finally, suggests that an increase in community service and social activism has led to and increase in faith on campus.
An increase in social activism may influence not only religion on campus but politics as well. The second piece, “Schools of Thought: The Liberal-Conservative Divide on College Campuses,” by Richard Just was published in 2003 and argues that active political conservatism among college students is not only increasing but becoming more evident. Just claims that students, especially conservative ones, are noticing an overwhelming liberal bias not only among the majority of students but also among faculty and staff. He reasons that the old generation of liberals who battled oppressive issues such as “freer sexuality, affirmative action, greater curricular and cultural diversity,” now occupy many positions on the faculty and impose their political views, intentionally or not, upon their students. Just suggests that the outweighing number of democrats to republicans is bringing more attention to the conservative presence on campuses and due to this spotlight, the funding for right party projects such as newspapers and speakers greatly overshadows that of the common liberals.
Lastly, an article entitled, “The College Dropout Boom,” by David Leonhardt was written in 2005 and argues that the number of college dropouts is increasing and is mostly due to the vast gaps between lower, middle, and upper class. Leonhardt says that various factors now contribute to young adults not only getting accepted to colleges but staying enrolled all four years. He suggests that high schools can take some of the blame for failing to prepare students well enough for college and, therefore, after a few semesters of not succeeding, end up dropping out. Another reason, he says, is that “tuition bills scare some students from even applying and leave others with years of debt.” Which, according to Leonhardt, the lower-income students receive no admissions preference and, if they are accepted, cannot afford to remain enrolled for four to five years, scholarship or not. He also states that many low-income students don’t have family members or examples in everyday life that have gone to college which also decreases the likelihood that they would attend or apply.
Though these writers claim that there is an increase in attitude toward religion, politics, and class from the past, as a college student it isn’t exactly evident that these changes are occurring on campus, but then again I don’t have experience to compare them with past attitudes. But if these increases are truly happening, luckily some of us are observing, writing, and monitoring this supposed progress of change.

SWA#8 Topic Proposal

Gaining weight is simply caused by intaking more calories than you expend, however, for many people it is much more complicated. Various factors contribute to the cause of weight gain and, especially in America, overall weight gain is continually increasing. Obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI), percentage of body fat relative to height and weight, of 40 or more. And, unfortunately, the population's "BMI" is ceasing to decrease. So what is causing this excess of fat?


In my exploratory essay I will discuss various causes of obesity in America such as the Fast Food industry, the environment and its examples, the replacement of physical labor with technology, and the trends in portion size in America and how they differ from other countries. Iwill also discuss the effects of obesity on health and well-being as well as the impact that the obesity epidemic has on the U.S. economy. I will give support from magazine articles, obesity organizations, medical associations, and Internet websites to provide evidence that the obesity epidemic not only exists but is getting worse. It is important that Americans understand that we have a weight problem, for whatever reason, and must makes personal and nation-wide strides to understand the causes and effects of obesity and how to make better decisions to decrease BMI. For if we fail to understand and we fail to act, obesity will continue to increase.

SWA#8 Sources

Works Cited

Collins, Anne. "Causes of Obesity." Anne Collins. 13 Oct. 2007
http://www.annecollins.com/obesity/causes-of-obesity.htm.

Cullen, Lisa T. "Not Too Rich or Too Thin." Time 07 June 2004: 1.

Lemonick, Michael D. "How We Grew So Big." Time 01 Nov. 2004: 1-4.

Murphy, Jenny. "The Super-Sizing of America: are Fast Food Chains to Blame for the Nation's
Obesity?" Speakout. 15 June 2000. 13 Oct. 2007
http://www.speakout.com/activism/issue_briefs/1333b-1.html.

"The Obesity Crisis: What's It All About?" Obesity in America. Org. The Endocrine Society.13
Oct. 2007 .

Smoking Bans

1. effects of smoking on health

• children's effect when not smoking but around smoke

2. second hand smoke, mainstream smoke (different types of smoke from cigarette, cigar)

3. history of smoking

• when did tobacco become a popular trading tool
• how was smoking viewed throughout time (50's=cool ; 2000=unhealthy)
• who smoked throughout time (men? women? poor? rich?)

My Post Secret

In my post secret I claimed that I would, "give up all expectations in order to become a famous flying trapeze artist". In my "secret" I used a picture of a flamboyant and stereotypical trapeze artist in a flashy costume to portray how absurd the idea of being a circus performer is to the normal, everyday person and even how absurd it is to me to have such a far-fetched dream. From what i observed, the class understood how my "secret" was valid due to the fact that being a trapeze artist isn't neccessarily a revered career and how i could be ashamed of such a dream.