The Dangers of Childhood Obesity Essay Example

The Dangers of Childhood Obesity Essay Example The Dangers of Childhood Obesity Essay The Dangers of Childhood Obesity Essay Analysis of an Online Article and a Poster In the last years, In an alarming way, obesity in children has been Increasing In the whole World. It has been noticed that obesity affects children psychologically and physically which is why a change is needed to overcome this situation. Many people are aware of this crisis, but do nothing to control it. This leads people to think and wonder about several things such as, Who Is In charge when It comes to childhood obesity? and What has been done about this issue? Or What am I doing about it? In these days, societies in any areas of the world have made several efforts to make their childrens life healthier. The problem of childhood obesity can be solved not only by offering children a healthier lifestyle, but by Involving children as much as possible, not only parents. All these concerns lead worried parents to look for some help to prevent or reduce their childrens obesity. Some parents may go for a health magazine, or to the doctor, oth er may Just turn on their computer and look for something. Many different genres exist that provide information about this Issue, but only few are the ones immunization the message effectively. An article from the New York State Department of Health website titled Preventing Childhood Obesity: Tips for Parents and a poster from the Safaris free of Childhood Obesity campaign are two of the different genres which communicate some facts about this obesity Issue. Analyzing the purpose, the use of rhetoric of these two genres will help define which fulfilled Its purpose better. Purpose and Audience The article Preventing Childhood Obesity: Tips for Parents from the New York State Department of Health website is targeted to parents who are worried about their childs health. It may also call the attention of the first time parents that do not want to make a serious mistake with their children. This article Is meant for the typography discourse community, and because it is an online article, it is also for those who have access to a computer with internet. Thanks to TV commercials and news, the audience has a bigger view of the situation, and they know being overweight Is not a good thing for anyone. What these parents are looking for Is something to help them cake the right choices to prevent or control their childs overweight. Parents want to learn what kind of food they should provide, and how much food per serving. The reader will take about twenty to forty minutes to understand and to take notes for later. It Is not much time when It comes to the childs health and his or her healthy future. The purpose of this article is to inform readers a little of the situation and to show them what things they have to do for their children. The poster of the Safaris Free of Childhood Obesity campaign is designed for children. The destined audience f the poster Is the child; the poster makes the children ask themselves Why am I Overweight? and Why do I have Healthy weight? Therefore, the poster engages children in the situation. The intended discourse community may be children who know how to read or children starting to read because it has pictures larger than the few words on the poster, Some children know they must eat to live; others have the Instinct to run all over the house or Just Jump In front of the television. But what they do not know is what type of food is good for them and what is the minimum time of 1 OFF hat should be done. Three to five minute will be the time children will take to be satisfied of the poster because it is tempting to view all the images again at least two times. Wanting to involve children in their health is the goal of the poster, and also to make them understand why they are overweight or have a healthy weight. Its purpose is to persuade children to take action for their own good, and, in some way, entertain viewers as they receive the information provided. Rhetorical Issues: Ethos, Pathos, Logos The article Preventing Childhood Obesity: Tips for Parents is reliable because of the act that it is found in the New York State Department of Health website, and the readers can see it is also taken from an institute of the University of Mississippi. Therefore, the audience feels the information provided is credible. At the beginning, the article mentions how obesity in children has increase in recent years. Furthermore, the article refers to some statistics, and percentages. It mentions that the number of obese children has increased fifty percent in the last two decades; it also lists six food groups and the specific amount of food conforming them. This evidence and the fact of the number indications in the quantity of food convince readers that those tips are true. And because the information is true, the readers will take the facts seriously. As the article presents an overview of the problem, it evokes in the parents a feeling of concern making them want to do something about it. After the parents got concerned, they are given some tips which make them feel relieved because there is more than one solution that can be done. The concern is removed by knowing that a solution exists. The poster of the Safaris Free of Childhood Obesity aiming has an effective response of credibility of the audience. Many children do not care a lot if the information is credible or not, but their parents do care. Nevertheless, it has included in the bottom of the poster the name of the official campaign and a website to get more information. Since it is not necessary for children to know about statistics or percentages as with parents, the poster uses logic to include evidence. The poster is made up of two columns, and the first one starts with a sad emoticon and the question Why am I Overweight? The other alumna has a happy emoticon and another question Why do I have Healthy weight? In the first column are shown types of unhealthy food or some that can be eaten but in small quantities. Moreover, some of the activities in which children do not have to spend much time are represented in one image. On the other hand, healthy food such as fruits and vegetables are the main elements in the second column. Physical activities are also shown in this part of the poster. All of these elements together can make children feel guilty or proud of themselves. In case of the child feeling guilty, he poster has these words with a bigger size Where there is a will, there is a way. In other words it is trying to make children understand that if they want to change, they can make it happen. And that feeling of guilty may disappear. Conclusion To see if the message of a genre is effective, it is necessary to analyze its content. Analyzing the areas of audience and purpose, and the use rhetoric will help see the effectiveness of the genre. The article Preventing Childhood Obesity: Tips for Parents from the New York State Department of Health website and the Safaris free f Childhood Obesity campaign poster have been analyzed to see which of the two is effective in different manners. Nevertheless, it is concluded that the poster delivers its information and purpose more effectively than the article. Its effectiveness relies on involving children in the situation and making the problem easier to solve because if the child does not want to lose weight, the problem remains unsolved. And if children have a healthy weight, it helps them to maintain that way by not doing the things mentioned in the first column. For the message to be effective, it has to call for a change.