Obese People in Georgia - Assignment Example

PART The gist of his arguments is provided below Georgia, despite being the of cornbread, barbecue and peach pie for many years, has shown a drastic increase in its number of obese people only in the last decade.2. Obesity is skyrocketing in America regardless of provinces, age, race or sex. The most obese states are in the South.3. Many assume that the change in dietary habits influenced by fast food joints like the McDonalds has contributed to this phenomenon. McDonalds have increased the size and portions of their dishes dramatically in recent years.4. However, bigger portions don’t mean bigger meals.

People still have the right to interpret what is offered and act accordingly. The tendency to over-eat is not necessarily the outcome of what the fast food joints offer – It could even be the other way round.5. The author presumes that the bigger sizes and portions are the outcome of demands for the same by customers.6. Another reason for obesity that many point out is the way our life style has become sedentary after the advent of computers.7. Statistics show that obesity is in higher rates where computer ownership is lower.

The author even suggests that those who use computers because they skip their meals and burn their fat in silent rage whenever the computer crashes.8. The relationship between smoking and obesity is also contested by the evidence provided by statistical data. 9. The fact that there is an increase in general income does not lead to the conclusion that those who have more money tend top be more obese. It is in fact up to the person to eat more food with the money, or eat better food with the money, or to access health clubs and healthy living habits with the money.10. What else could have made reamin obese and take no steps to prevent it in the 1990s? 11. The real reason for obesity could be the popularization of drugs like Pravachol and Lipitor that can dramatically cut cholesterol and increase life expectancy.

If there is no real danger in being obese, people would not find any logic in remaining thin and healthy.12. The success of human genome project could be considered another significant reason for people deciding to remain obese.13. The emergence of low fat food in the market is another significant reason for obesity according to the author. In his view, people could use the low=fat food to both cut down fat and to reasonably become fatter.14. The author projects the last two theories to support his argument that the general misconceptions regarding obesity take away the real focus from the heart of the issue.

PART 2Steven E. Landsburg presents well-researched arguments in an unpretentious manner in the essay “Why Are We Getting So Fat: A Few Theories on America’s Weight Problem”. At first, the arguments seem to follow the conventional views regarding obesity, but he presents these arguments only to disprove them. The statistical data, though not properly documented are accurate, and the casual, humorous tone of the essay does not take away the seriousness of the couple of topic of the theories that he presents in the end.

He takes up the responsibility to demystify the readers of the generally held misconceptions that take away the focus from real issues that contribute towards obesity. However, there is a lack of evidence, contrary to that in the theories that he disproves, which makes his theories a bit coloured by his fixation to certain reasons that lead to obesity. It may seem like an attack to the life expectancy enhancing drugs and low fat food business, though there could be sufficient data that could prove his point.

The lack of such data makes the intent of the essay dubious, as one could argue that it sprouts from vested interests. It would have been more convincing and foolproof if he had documented the essay properly. However, he succeeds in persuading readers to think more about the general misconceptions related to obesity, and to think seriously about the way seemingly noble issues like better life expectancy and low fat diet could have adverse effects if people are not in control of their own life habits.

Whatever science can offer to us human beings can have its good effects only if we are discreet enough to make use of it in the right manner. The essay succeeds in communicating well with the readers and making them ponder over the way choices they make in their life lead to their own welfare or suffering.