Are you at a healthy weight? Your answer to this question might be completely different than the government's answer. According to the U.S. Government, your health in terms of weight is measured by using the Body Mass Index (BMI) tool. This tool uses your height and weight to determine whether you are normal, overweight or obese. Is this an accurate gauge for your health? I don't think so, and neither does Paul Campos, author of the article titled "Being Fat is OK". Each of our bodies are unique in shape and size; we were not made with a cookie cutter! Certainly there are people who truly are overweight; however, physically fit people can add a few more digits to the scale simply by exercising and gaining muscle. Unfortunately, muscle mass doesn't play into the BMI calculation, resulting in a terribly flawed tool.
Regardless of this issue, the BMI is considered to be accurate by many, including our government. Consequently, many people are falsely labeled as being overweight or obese. In fact, obesity is now considered today's biggest health problem. Two-thirds of the U.S. population is labeled as overweight, half of which have been diagnosed with clinical obesity (Engler 172). Whether or not the people in this group actually deserve to be there is controversial.
We are told that obesity is the second most important and expensive preventable health problem (Banzhaf 163). Expensive is right! Fifty-billion dollars per year has been generated by the diet industry due the fact that countless Americans believe they have severe weight problems (Campos 207). Banzhaf may be correct in saying that this health issue is expensive; but, is the problem really preventable?
In order to answer this question, we must determine if the fifty-billion dollar per year diet industry actually helps those looking to lose weight. In actuality, dieting has a very steep failure rate - trust me, I speak from experience! According to Campos (208), between 90-95% of dieting attempts fail. Regardless, the diet industry continues to push their weight loss miracles onto our so-called overweight citizens, whether they need the products or not. Furthermore, these dieters are lead to believe that they are less healthy than thin people, and that if they lose weight, they can achieve excellent health. Are these facts accurate? Not necessarily. These so-called facts are merely speculations that have yet to be proven (Campos 208).
In summary, the problem of obesity may not be as valid as the U.S. government and the diet industry want you to believe it is. I echo Campos' opinion that "Being Fat is OK," especially when it comes to the government’s standards. After all, our unique bodies cannot be measured by a simple tool, and our level of health cannot be solely based on what the scale reads.
Works Cited
Banzhaf, John H. III. "Lawsuits Against Fast Food Restaurants Are An Effective Way to Combat Obesity." They Say I Say. Comp. Gerald Greff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.
Campos, Paul. "Being Fat is OK." They Say I Say. Comp. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.
Enger, Yves. "Obesity: Muct of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations." They Say I Say. Comp. Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.
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I am not sure if I was having a hard time understanding the argument, or if it just was not there. I did notice that you used the work of other authors in your assignment, but you are using them to support your article. From my understanding of the assignment, you are suppose to be arguing why your article is superior to the others. It would be beneficial if you used other quotes that disagree rather than agree. I hope this helps! Other than that the essay is nicely worded.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback, Rachel. Maybe I didn't deliver this correctly... because the other authors that I cited did NOT agree with the article my posting is based on. While they believe that the obesity crisis does exist, the article I focused on believes that the crisis is exaggerated. I think I might need to re-word some things to make the argument more apparent. Thanks for your help! I see we can't edit these blogs - so I can't make any changes now...bummer!
ReplyDeleteYou seem really passionate on this subject. I really like how you personalized it. You also did a great job of incorporating other ideas. There were two things I thought you could improve on. The first one was that it didn't appear to me that you were proving your argument to be better than the sources you included. It didn't seem necessary, but it's how I understood the assignment. The second thing that stood out to me was this: "We are told that obesity is the second most important and expensive preventable health problem (Banzhaf 163)." It stood out to me because it didn't appear that the rest of the paragraph was related. I say this because the quote was about obesity related health issues, while your argument was about the diet industry. Like I said, I don't think the first part necessarily detracts from your argument, but I do think the second part does- at least for me. Overall, you were very convincing.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Rachel and Jessica that the argument that Campos’s section is superior to the other readings tends to be lacking. I believe that you can edit your own posts by going to the main blogger page and clicking on “edit posts”. Also I do think you would be able to have a strong argument if you just explain why Campos’s argument is more informative than Banzhaf’s and Enger’s. I hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your input! I went ahead and made a few changes - hopefully it's better now! I appreciate all of your wonderful suggestions!!
ReplyDelete(PS - I was actually pretty excited about this article, because I've been a victim of the flawed BMI tool first hand. I'm 5'0, and 120 pounds, and was told that I was borderline obese... HUH??? 120 pounds!!!! Isn't that crazy?
Renee,
ReplyDeleteAre you kidding me! That's nuts, I can understand your enthusiasm for the article. Personally, I think BMI needs to be taken out of the picture; rather we should focus on overall health rather than the numbers. In other words some people are going to weigh more than others, healthy habits like eating right and exercising are how health should be measured. An example would be, a person very close to me can eat whatever he wants and not gain any weight. This person eats a ton fast food. Well, the evidence may not present itself on the outside, but over time the interior of his body may boldly reflect those bad food choices (I hope not of course). I think our culture places way too much emphasis on appearances and weight rather than actual health.
I couldn't agree more with your post here, you state how the article you had to read talked about the bmi being non-factual. This is so true, my brother is in the military and when he went in they did a bmi test on him and it showed that due to his height(5'8) his 155 pound frame was over weight. They said that he had too much fat on his body according to the BMI and had to loose weight and come back to try again. My brother is tiny, if he is over weight according to the BMI then the entire world must be close. I like how in your post you state personal opinion supported by the book TSIS.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely agree with Paul Campos. He states that the government regulated BMI index is what tells them that the country is overweight. Hah! That is so funny. When I took a look it stated I was obese according to the BMI index, which is a load of hooey. At my height and weight I am perfectly fine, I may not be supreme healthy cause I smoke, but I can certainly pull my own weight, metaphoriclly speaking. Being fat is ok with me and I think Campos is definitely the leader in who is superior.
ReplyDeleteVery good introduction, I like the line “I don’t think so..” I thought this fit really well and added some personality to the paragraph. The dieting industry information is a good choice of information to be included. I think this really solidifies the argument of the writer in showing that people are led to believe they are overweight for the profit of this industry. The failure rates are unbelievable for such a successful industry. The unique bodies statement also shows the point that the government standards really can’t apply to all people.
ReplyDeleteI understand your views on the BMI. It almost makes a person feel guilty when you have lost 35 lbs and you BMI is still 28. You saying you weigh 120 Lbs and the BMI classes you as obese?? I can also see you are interested in this subject. Your work clearly shows that. I have kind of a differnt view on obesity. I think people are addicted to foods and use it instead of alcohol or drugs. Myself and items that contain sugar seem to set me off. I have to have more once I start. Kathy
ReplyDeleteI believe your group did a really good job at supporting your author, I understand your main points and I see exactly where you are coming from. I was very shocked to learn about the flaws of the Body Mass Index tool, I didn’t really know much about it. The only thing I would say is I didn’t really see any arguments. It seems like you used the other authors to support your argument, and maybe you could add some ideas that support the “other side” of the story and just not yours. Otherwise, really good job!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Pau Campos; just because you have a high body mass index does not necessarily make you fat. I myself weigh only 110 pounds and I have a abnormal body mass index for my height and weight, but that does not necessarily mean that I am an obese person. If you were to look at me you would not say oh that person is obese, but if you ask my personal trainer he would say otherwise and I do not agree with his opinion.
ReplyDeleteI think this post is very well written. It's amazing the flaws in the BMI system. I have had numerous BMI's taken from several different trainers, doctors, and of course those blasted BMI scales. My BMI varies with each person that takes it. Your argument is clear, but a little bit in support of the other articles. All in all I understand your thesis and you make a valid point. We can all relate to this topic and it was an easy read and kept me interested.
ReplyDeleteThe post is written well and flows nicely. I agree with the BMI scale as being false and you clearly explain that throughout the article. The only thing is that it didn't really feel like an argument because you used other writer's but they were to help support your paper. It did not really prove how Campos was superior.
ReplyDelete