Megan McGuire
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The Process
My paragraph from my paper-
Another social aspect that is contributing to obesity in America is how we are in a “computer age.” This not only affects children but it affects adults in America, jobs are less physical and an employees sit behind a desk from 9-5. Everything in todays society is based through technology, which gives us ways to complete tasks smarter. But is smarter the right word? Having smart technology helps us cut corners, do things in half the time and most of the time have little to no manual labor. Bill Gates once said “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it”, this quote is the perfect example of how technology intertwines with exercise. Technology has advantages and disadvantages but the disadvantages are affecting obesity more than we think; with these “corners being cut” and less and less manual labor being involved in jobs people are just getting lazier and fatter. Bill Gates was right, a lazy person will find the easy way out to complete a task and the lazier people are the less exercise they will receive. Without Americans adding more exercise into their lives the obesity rates are just going to keep rising. People are glued behind their computers; more than two thirds of adult Americans are considered obese or overweight. And these statistics are just going to keep rising if a change is not made, technology and exercise need to be balanced.
There are three different ways I can intergrate this quote from Bill Gates into my paper. The first way can be by block quoting which is where you include quotations that have more than four lines of prose or three lines of a verse but then take those quatations marks and omit them and make the text in either a different color or in bold, with the source cited. The second way I can intergrate this quote could be through paraphrasing, which is basically rewording the text; showing clarity. After including the quote explain what is means and how it is revelant. Giving a summary of what this quote means and how it regards to my research. The third option is embedding this quote into your sentence, a mixture of block quoting and paraphrasing.
The option I would go with out of the three choices will be through paraphrasing. In the McCraw handbook it states to give an example and explain in your own words the quote you are talking about. After stating Bill Gates word I will explain how this relates to my topic of obesity in America and why I find it revelant.
What causes people to gain so much so fast? Who is to blame for the obesity rates going up in America? These questions turn heads, because of course everyone thinks the main cause of obesity in America is because of fast food, right? Wrong. The social aspects within America is what is causing more and more Americans to hit the weight scale rather than the achievement scale. There are numerous social aspects that contribute to obesity in America; and most are unaware that this is a problem that isn’t getting better, in fact, its getting much worse.
Fat Reasons for Fat problems
Income determines what type of food a person will intake, or what their families will intake on a day to day basis. The lower one’s income the more likely it is that they will live in “obesogenic” environment; which is basically an environment that helps or contributes to obesity. The people in this community are much more likely to eat low quality meat with a cheap soda on the corner of their street rather than eating fresh fruits and vegetable’s. You can see a perfect example of this by looking at the prices on the McDonalds menu, hamburgers are one dollar opposed to a salad that is six dollars, the choice of most customers is obvious. These types of neighborhoods are usually more dangerous with higher rates of crime (CNN). So it would not be safe for a mother and her child to go for an evening walk, which would give them both their exercise for the day. Also, in specific neighborhoods it is not safe for children to be out playing sports, or playing in general because of neighborhood gangs or homeless people living on that street. These children in these obesgenic environment’s or neighborhoods are not getting the proper exercise they need to have daily. Without the proper exercise a child needs to grow up to be healthy and to maintain a normal weight is not being met and it proves why in low income neighborhoods why the obesity rate is prominently higher. In these environment’s it is common for one to be obese, and when no one is critizing these people everyone around them will assume living in that lifestyle is normal or feasible when it is not.
A huge social aspect contributing to obesity in America is the lack of physical education in the school systems. Schools are starting to cut physical education and activities from their schools and realistically in todays world that is the only exercise children are receiving. Children learn the basics of exercise in their early school days, and with the school systems cutting physical education programs more in the past five years than the past fifty its no surprise on why this new generation is the most overweight people society has seen so far. Schools care more about a budget than the well being of the students. Cost is the reason schools are cutting down and the children are the ones paying for it in the long run; schools should try offering up a different cost reduction that doesn’t take away from the student’s health. With the lack of motivation for these students on a day to day basis little to no exercise will be in their lives. Yes, school is about getting an education, but learning the proper way to eat and exercise daily is apart of a child’s education too. Physical education is crucial in teaching young children how to have a balanced and exercised life, and without it, children will not have a base of a healthy life.
Another social aspect that is contributing to obesity in America is how we are in a “computer age.” This not only affects children but it affects adults in America, jobs are less physical and an employees sit behind a desk from 9-5. Everything in todays society is based through technology, which gives us ways to complete tasks smarter. But is smarter the right word? Having smart technology helps us cut corners, do things in half the time and most of the time have little to no manual labor. Bill Gates once said “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy way to do it”, this quote is the perfect example of how technology intertwines with exercise. Technology has advantages and disadvantages but the disadvantages are affecting obesity more than we think; with these “corners being cut” and less and less manual labor being involved in jobs people are just getting lazier and fatter. Bill Gates was right, a lazy person will find the easy way out to complete a task and the lazier people are the less exercise they will receive. Without Americans adding more exercise into their lives the obesity rates are just going to keep rising. People are glued behind their computers and this is why more than two thirds of adult Americans are considered obese or overweight. And these statistics are just going to keep rising if a change is not made, technology and exercise need to be balanced.
FACTORS OF OBESITY
Fast food restaurants. This is a cause that most people think is the only reason people are obese in America, yes this unhealthy and fattening food does play a big role in the obesity rate going up in America but it is not the number one reason. The cheap cost is why so many Americans stick to McDonald’s as their daily diet. A person can feed their whole family with a fast food restaurant meal that would cost just the same as feeding one person with organic food. Food plays a huge role in how much weight Americans are gaining, and the fast food industry is only increasing (Steve Mazzucchi). There is a fast food joint on every street you drive by, its cheap and its convenient. Bottom line Americans are lazy and take the easy way out and this is something that needs to change unless we want our obesity rate to double by 2020. The numbers are increasing, 22 states out of 50 in America have an adult obesity rate of 33% or higher, 34.9% of American adults are obese and 68.6% are obese or overweight and finally nearly 40% of American adults ages 40-59 are obese. These numbers are scary, it shows how common obesity it and how its everywhere. It’s all about choices, regardless how much scientist try and make our food healthy and how hard trainers try to promote exercises its all about a choice. It’s a choice to live and be healthy.
FINAL
The social aspects within America is the reason why more and more Americans are becoming obese or overweight. Income, physical education, technology they all are aspects that contribute to this scale rising beyond its spectrum. Society makes a lot of assumptions and think they have a topic analyzed correctly but in the broad scale of things they are wrong. Fast food is a factor of why so many Americans are gaining weight but it is not what the root of the problem is, social aspects within our society are. Society and the problems within our society is what makes America known as the fattest country in the world. Prevention is key; a healthy diet, a healthy mind and being physically in shape will put America back on top, and not the top of the weight scale. It’s a choice. It’s the people’s choice. And with the right choices change will be possible.