Obesity and Unhealthy Food Consumption - Essay Example

It probably comes with no surprise that larger portion sizes are associated with higher caloric intake” (Rossen and Rossen, 2012, p. 65). The body converts the excess sugar into fat. The more the sugar intake, the more fat is stored. The second major cause of obesity is a lack of physical activity. Many people today are living a sedentary lifestyle and use vehicles for traveling. Likewise, people keep servants at home rather than doing domestic work themselves. The third main cause of obesity is a lack of education. Advertisements convey information in such a complicated manner that the common man cannot understand the nutritional value of the product. In addition to that, there is a lot of conflicting information about food items, which leaves people puzzled. Obesity has many negative implications for both individuals and society at large.

Overfeeding children grow up into overeating adults. They cannot do exercise. Obesity lowers self-esteem, thus causing people to seek refuge in comfort eating. Obesity causes many medical complications including heart problems and diabetes. Most of the factors are both causes and effects of obesity. Furthermore, obesity makes people lazy. In the past, being fat was considered a sign of prosperity, but today people have to bear its cost. Avoiding obesity requires a complete lifestyle change. People need to combine good common-sense eating with more activity. People should adopt healthy living earlier to avoid the consequences of obesity later in life.

Reflection
 Topic Sentence
I started my new paragraph with a topic sentence. While choosing and organizing the words to make my topic sentence, I had three factors in my mind; length, indication, and appeal. Firstly, I wanted to keep my topic sentence concise because wordy topic sentences are misleading and confusing whereas I wanted my topic sentence to be very to the point. Secondly, I wanted to select a topic sentence that would indicate what claim or argument is made in the paragraph following it. Thirdly, I wanted my topic sentence to reflect the appeal or tone of the whole paragraph so that the readers know it upfront. These three factors when considered while making the topic sentence help the readers know what to expect in the paragraph.

 Tenses
Tenses indicate the gravity of an issue. For example, in my supporting sentences, I made use of both past and present continuous tenses to emphasize that obesity has been a health risk to society in the past and has not subsided yet, but is rather growing in rate and effects. Most of the supporting sentences are written in the present tense because the effects of obesity have always been mentioned, are, and will continue to be as such.

 Grammar
An appropriate selection of adjectives, comparatives, and transitive words helps the writer incorporate expression in the text. In my paragraph, I used adjectives before nouns like “greasy” burgers and “fizzy” soft drinks to reflect their images in the readers’ minds while they read, along with the feeling they get while consuming them so that they can relate to what they read. I emphasized the gravity of the consequences of obesity by using such comparatives as “more” and “very”. I reflected on different phases of time in the sentences by making use of such comparatives as “earlier” and “later”. I linked the sentences to one another by using such transitive words as “furthermore”, and phrases like “in addition to that”. I supported my arguments with examples and connected the examples to arguments by using such words as “likewise”.

 Sources
The use of credible sources adds to the content’s reliability. I incorporated references from such credible sources as books in support of my arguments so that the readers know that my arguments are not only widely acknowledged but also reflect the views and opinions of a vast majority of educationalists, scholars, professionals, and experts of academia and industry. I just included a sentence or two either as a paraphrase of the source sentence or a direct quotation because I simply needed those references in support of my claims rather than providing summaries of those sources. Any more information about the sources than what was given might take the discussion off the track. Read More