Katie Fasola

Professor Beckelhimer

Intermediate Composition

18 September 2017

Discourse Analysis: Obesity

Over the past fifty years, obesity has grown to be a huge problem not only on a local

level, but also a national level. Obesity is defined as being grossly fat or overweight. An

individual is said to be overweight when their Adult Body Mass Index, or BMI, is 30.0 or higher.

Although I am not obese myself, I interact with this social issue almost every day. Having obese

family members and friends has opened my eyes to the issues causing this epidemic. I am not

writing today to necessarily examine the issue of obesity at large, but rather, one of the leading

causes behind this issue. The leading cause, I believe, is nutrition.

My older sister just graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio with a major in

Marketing and a minor in Nutrition. I was never fully aware of the effects our eating habits have

on our health. Eating unhealthy foods have more negative effects on our bodies rather than just

our physical outward appearance. Because of the points my sister brought to my attention, I was

prompted to think more in depth about the issue of nutrition. Almost every person is involved

with this issue in society. Discourse communities involved in this issue include nutritionists,

dietitians, doctors, educators, and parents. Nutrition is learned. These individuals need to teach

others how to eat healthily. For example, nutritionists and dietitians can teach others how to read

food labels listing the fats, cholesterol, carbohydrates, sodium, sugars, etc. Parents can

implement correct serving sizes in their meals to their children, and educators can emphasize the

effects of eating unhealthy to the people they influence each day.

 On a collegiate level, I feel nutrition has not been made a priority. Evident through the

dining hall foods and the pizza available at every meeting, healthy living is not often supported.

There are numerous discourse communities on the University of Cincinnatis campus that

promote health and fitness, however, many students do not understand the prevalence. For

example, there is a fitness club at UC called CHAARG, which promotes health and wellness for

college women. The University of Cincinnati Recreation Center also has fitness classes

including Zumba and yoga among a plethora of other options. These classes serve as a way for

people to have a healthy lifestyle. Personally, I just started attending some of the classes offered,

and I feel as if I now have a support system for healthy living.

To research the effects of nutrition on collegiate campuses, I plan on reading articles

about the effects of obesity. I plan on reading personal accounts of the effects of nutrition on and

I would like to interview a few people who have been directly affected. These would all serve as

primary sources. There are also a number of academic and scholarly sources in which I am

aware. There are journals in which obese people can reference for a recovery plan. There are

also resources available through doctors offices as well as nutritionists and dietitians. Food

labels serve as great references for us to understand the foods we are consuming and how they

affect our bodies.

Obesity is not just a physical problem. There are causes to obesity nutrition, exercise,

and education. I would like to explore the social issues regarding nutrition and how our

educators have failed to alert us of the negative effects. This problem is more than just a national

issue. This problem is prevalent in our society and I would like to research how to prevent it.