Obisity

o Obesity is not a sign of a person being out of control. It is a serious medical disease that affects over a quarter of children in the United States. U.N. proclaimed, “Obesity is the dominant unmet global health issue, with westernized countries topping the list”. Greg Crister the author of this article “Too Much of a Good Thing” shows his audience that there are dangers from overeating. Crister made a good use of rogerian argument to explain that in order to stop obesity, we should stigmatize overeating. Crister states that we should place shame on overeating due to the rising obesity epidemic that faces the world today. Crister uses facts to support his idea of stigmatizing overeating and gives a solution that may only help certain people in society. In his essay, Crister tries to persuade his audience to believe that stigmatization of overeating will solve the worldwide epidemic of childhood obesity. In the article "Why the Fries Tastes Good", Eric Schlosser introduces the readers to the flavor industry. The author claims that we as a society or culture creates flavors in our kid’s minds, and we are the one who teaches them this is sweeter and this is bitter. According to the author this leads the artificial flavor industry has gradually become a growing industry whose members consider their trade an art form. This both article shows how we as a society are responsible for obesity. Crister logically states his solution to the problem with obesity, and uses facts and accurate information such as research. He shows his audience that there are dangers from overeating, and that it has become a very serious problem not only in the U.S., but worldwide. Crister uses facts to support his idea of stigmatizing overeating and gives a solution that may only help certain people in society. In his essay, Crister tries to persuade his audience to believe that stigmatization of overeating will solve the worldwide epidemic of childhood obesity. He presents his audience with a very simple answer to an extremely complex problem. Crister states that these stigmatizing strategies have worked in the past, with situations such as smoking and unprotected sex. The purpose of Crister's article is to stigmatize the activity of overeating, but not to stigmatize the person or people. In Crister's article, he seems to be unclear about who should be blamed for solving the childhood obesity epidemic. He states that the "much strained American family" must "promulgate dietary restraint, something our ancestors knew simply as avoiding gluttony." Shortly after this statement, he states that "it is not to say that parents should be blamed for the nation's growing dietary permissiveness." It is imperative that parents be held responsible for their children's eating habits. This brings about another problem with Crister's proposal. How can you stigmatize overeating without causing unwanted disastrous eating habits in children? Although parents are influenced by the general idea that tension created by confronting children about their eating habits may result in disastrous eating behaviors, they are still responsible for their children's wellbeing. This responsibility can easily override any reason for a parent to not confront a child about their eating habits, or any other matter that may need confrontation. Also, parents must be the ones held blamed for their children's eating habits, as they are most likely to be the sole providers for their children. It is the parent's job to make sure that their children develop healthy eating habits. Another problem may be that parents are providing their children with dangerous amounts of food, thereby increasing the likelihood of disastrous eating behaviors. In this instance, there is no way to blame the child for overeating. The blame then resides with the parents. No matter what the case, parents must be held responsible for their children, and they must be aware of their children's health and eating habits.

Crister's essay "Too Much of a Good Thing" is a decent proposal for stigmatizing overeating; however, it is no more than a simple solution for a very complex problem that plaques the world today. For example, stigmatization may increase the likelihood that children may become more obese from the pressure exerted from stigmatization. There are also many genetic factors that may play a role in obesity in children. Altogether, Crister's proposal would help to partially solve the problem with childhood obesity, but it is not suitable for a complete solution.

According to these authors who takes or should take responsibility for the problem of being overweight or obsessed? How do the authors use the logos pathos and ethos in their argument?