The Important Issues of Physical Exercise and Weight Gain - Essay Example

To whom it may concern, The important issues of physical exercise and weight gain have entered the campus consciousness as a means to improve our quality and length of life. Everyone is keenly aware of the dangers of obesity that is promoted by Americas sedentary lifestyle and unhealthy choice of diets. College freshmen are one of the most vulnerable groups that can fall victim to an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity. Many students are away from home for the first time and will seek out a steady diet of fast food as they try to manage their limited time. Hours spent in the library or in a classroom situation contribute to the high fat diet turning into excess weight gain. It is estimated that the average college freshman will gain 15 pounds in their first year of college. This statistic has not gone unnoticed and has gained a reputation as the Freshman-15. While diet has an enormous influence on weight gain, our program will dedicate itself to exercise. Health experts, nutritionists, and physical trainers all agree that diet and exercise are the two most important ingredients to controlling weight gain and maintaining physical health. The components of a healthy diet have been addressed by the various agencies that are assigned to keep our food safe. Fast food restaurants have been pro-active in the reduction of fat, carbohydrates, and trans-fats from their menus. The second component, exercise, has been addressed to a lesser extent and may be easier to promote given our situation. It is from this angle that we have offered the Anti-Freshman 15 Sports Club, an exercise program that is casual, informal, and fun. To promote our Anti-Freshman 15 Sports Club we have developed a flier to be placed strategically around the campus to gain attention to our program and generate interest among the student body. It is designed to be placed on bulletin boards or places where students may congregate. The one page design has been implemented to be used as an inexpensive take-away item to be passed around or used for future reference. The color scheme is meant to attract attention, while the softness of the hue is non-threatening and easy to read. In keeping with the color scheme, the design is gender nuetral and the club is not limited to male or female. This will attract as many students as possible and advocate the program to a wide range of student demographics. While the sports club is called the Anti-Freshman 15 Sports Club, it is for all students or interested campus personnel. The audience may be a freshman who is concerned about gaining weight during their first year of college, or a senior who simply wants to stay in top physical condition. There was some discussion about the title being perceived as limiting interest to only overweight freshmen, but the popularity of the term Freshman 15 will eliminate this effect. It is a widely accepted generic term and its use in this context will be self-explanatory to the reader. Likewise, though the basic purpose of the program is to reduce the threat of obesity, the flier is designed to those students that are interested in physical activity and the fun of playing sports. The informality of the program and the flier will appeal to those students who have played sports at a high level in the past or may have never been inside a gymnasium. In addition, the variety of sports available will further increase the audience among those students who may wish to participate in a sport that they have never tried before. These combined features of the flier should be of interest to as many students as possible. In keeping with the goal of attracting as many students as possible, we have intentionally maintained an air of informality on the flier. The flier makes no attempt to preach the dangers of weight gain or portray any sense of morality. It simply tries to reach out and suggest that a sports program can be valuable as well as enjoyable. The line at the top uses the proactive verb avoid to give the reader a sense on urgency without a feeling of danger. It is also of concern that keeping the weight off may be easier than losing it later. To address this aspect of the program, the flier has intentionally omitted mentioning weight loss directly. The more casual term freshman 15 and the desire to avoid it contributes to the fliers portrayal of the program as a fun exercise program and not a weight loss program. It is the fliers intention to be viewed as control and not a rigid weight loss program. This concept will insure that the students will each view this as their own individual program and not alienate students due to unwarranted anxiety. The format of the flier is arranged so that the large font lettering at the top and the bottom pull the reader into the graphic of the weight scale. This immediately draws attention to the fact that the program is about weight control without directly addressing the issue. The details of the program are presented in a smaller and less bold text that gives them a more detailed feeling of facts and not opinion. In addition, we have called attention to the date and termed it a call out. This term is an open invitation to anyone that wishes to participate in the program. By placing the types of sports available as a border around the name of the program, it conveys the information the reader will need to determine what the program is designed to accomplish and how it intends to do it. These factors give the reader as much information as possible at a single glance at the flier. The bold type and color of the flier are meant to draw immediate attention even from a distance. Upon closer examination, the reader is drawn to the graphic of the scale in the center of the flier. The nearly cartoon feel of the bare feet on the scale promotes a sense of humor and an indication that the program is meant to be fun and not a workout, which continues in the theme of casual informality. The information at the bottom that gives time and date are presented in a clear and unambiguous fashion. The flier has refrained from being too busy with information that is unnecessary to the task of attracting participants to come to the Rec Center at the appropriate time. Reading the flier from top to bottom, it grabs interest, informs, and relates the pertinent information. The last item is the necessary meeting time and place. As students see the flier multiple times, the time and date will stand out, as they will immediately recognize the message of the flier. When seen from a distance, students will be reminded of the program and the scheduled call-out. The flier is an effective medium for getting the information about the Anti-freshman 15 to the student body. It is colorful, yet unobstructed, design attracts attention and can be easily absorbed by busy students. Its non-threatening, gender neutral, tone will attract a wide range of students wishing to have fun while controlling their weight. It has served the purpose of not alienating students who may have a low level of sports performance. The flier has been designed to pull the reader into the most important information while its uncomplicated design will be memorable and reinforced when students see the flier on numerous occasions. These features, taken together, will be the most cost-effective method of reaching and influencing the largest number of the student body possible. Read More