Introduction

As obesity rates continue to rise not only in America but throughout the world, and
dieting is almost as common as breathing, it is inevitable to ask the question: Why? Why are
people becoming fatter than they were even just fifty years ago? What has changed? According
to an article in Huffpost Living, almost a third of the world is fat, and the US has about 13
percent of the worlds fat population, more than any other country. Mary Maxfield addresses this
topic in her article Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating, and suggests eating
for many Americans has almost become a religion but everyone is confused about what is right
and what is wrong. Whether we are obese or not, there seems to be an expectation we must
meet in order to be healthy, and the food industries send us many mixed messages about what
that really means. Rather than listening to our bodies we listen to experts. Fifty years ago
obesity rates were much lower, processed food wasnt as common, and dieting programs werent
advertised constantly through social media. So, why do we stress so much over the food we eat?
What about our culture has created such an anxiety about eating?

Source #1
Abraham, Suzanne, and Derek Llewellyn-Jones. Adolescent Eating Behaviour. Eating
Disorders (Oxford). 1. n.p.: Oxford University Press Inc., New York, 2001. Health
Source Consumer Edition. Web. 5 Nov. 2014
Summary:
To be slim means to be fashionable in todays society, right? Suzanne Abraham, author
of Adolescent Eating Behaviour, claims that For the past three decades the public perception
has been that a woman is attractive, desirable, and successful when she is slim (printed page1).
The media sends constant messages that stress how desirable it is to be thin. This particularly
affects young teenage girls when they are developing and going through much emotional stress.
Often times, adolescent girls feel that achieving the ideal body image can ensure success and
happiness in a world full of competition and confusion.
As girls and boys grow up, and hormonal changes trigger physical and emotional changes
in their bodies, often times an increase in food, or energy intake, is necessary. With the pressure
to be thin and insecurities that come with puberty, a girls self-esteem especially can drop
immensely during this time. Being overweight and obese also affects self-esteem. All of these
things have the potential to cause anxiety and depression. One particular type of anxiety, as
Abraham informs us, is called social phobia or social anxiety, which is a fear of
embarrassment or humiliation in social situations where the person worries that others are
judging their performance (pp3), according to Abraham. These insecurities and anxious feelings
commonly lead girls to dieting in order to lose some body weight. Many girls start to watch their
sisters and mothers and start to diet at this young age because their perception of their body
shape and size become skewed.
During a girls menstrual cycle, food intake can increase or decrease. Sometimes food
intake is reduced, causing a feeling of well-being, but often times the decrease in food intake can
trigger cravings for later. With this up and down pattern, girls turn to dieting which is often
alternated with periods of binge-eating.

As women strive to maintain their weight, achieve the perfect body, and feel confident
about their appearance, many turn to crash diets, fast, or find that they have episodes of eating
when they just cant stop. Many studies were done, including one in 1988 of Australian women
who showed they had experienced difficulty in controlling their weight and food intake that
interfered with their daily life. For example, Abraham reports that Many of the 1200 young
women surveyed in the three Australian studies had disturbed eating behavior. One-third had
been on crash diets or had episodes of fasting, and half avoided meals (pp4). These women
take such extreme measure to control their weight that many of them have an eating disorder
such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa.
Media pressures to be thin and to start dieting are common in Western society. Abraham
says that A perfect body is equated with high self-esteem, success (in romance and a career),
acceptance, and admiration by others (pp5), and is a message that we see in television, cinema,
womens magazines, and popular newspaper. This preoccupation with body shape and size often
leads to a preoccupation with weight loss and dieting.
Rhetorical Analysis:
The author of this book, Suzanne Abraham, uses many examples and includes many
studies to support her argument. She starts out with referring to history, claiming that For most
of recorded history a woman was seen as desirable when her body was plump due to the
deposition of fat on her breasts, hips, thighs, and abdomen. It was fashionable to be fat (pp1).
Although this may establish some credibility, Abraham doesnt say where she got this
information from.
I predict that her intended audience are those who may struggle with eating, or know
someone who struggles with eating, or who simply find the subject interesting; Abraham is
particularly good relating to her readers as she shares specific stories and feelings. She opens her
book with a personal story: If I was going to get a job when I left school, I felt I had to be half a
stone lighter. All my friends were dieting by my mother disapproved. She said it was puppy fat
which would disappear. I knew it wouldnt, so I had to pretend I was not hungry because I
wanted to be slim (pp1). Social pressure, lack of control, and a desire to be slim seem to be
trigger for many people, especially young girls, when it comes to dieting and even disordered
eating.
Most girls grow up experiencing the hormonal triggers that seem to set off emotional and
physical changes out of their control. Abraham talks about this and the thoughts and feelings
young girls have, making her book more relatable to her female readers.
Abrahams word choice is very descriptive and she does well at creating imagery in the
mind of her readers. She describes the social anxiety that comes as self-esteemed is lowered in
girls and vividly explains that social anxiety is a fear of failing in front of others. This can occur
when people are eating or speaking in front of other people and in the classroom when someone
watches them working. The sufferer may avoid eye contact with people, blush, stop what they
are doing, and appear generally anxious. Feeling anxious around people, particularly people they
do not know well, is a common worry of people with eating problems (pp3). As she paints this
picture in the mind of her reader, it may cause them to reflect back on a time they may have
experienced this.
Abraham establishes a lot of credibility as she describes the media pressures on body
image, discussing the commonality of new and exciting diets published in womens magazines.

These examples also appeal to the readers emotion and logic since everyone has seen this
evidence that the dieting world is one that is rapidly growing.
The tone this author uses is casual, but informative, and I think this is helpful in the
emotional connection to the readers.
Assessment:
I think the information in this book encompasses my question: What about our culture
has created such an anxiety over the food we eat? Why do we stress about the food we eat? Why
cant we just eat what makes us feel good? Although Abraham doesnt talk a whole lot about
food, she explains external reasons why so many girls and women struggle with eating, who diet,
or who even have eating disorders. It is all in attempt to be slim and fashionable. This
mindset starts in adolescence, as girls are maturing physically and emotionally. Their self-esteem
is unstable, causing stress and worry about their appearance. Todays society places so much
emphasis on having the perfect body, or looking like models in order to feel accepted and
important. Women stress so much about food because they want their bodies to reach the social
standard. It seems our mindset isnt that we need food for our bodies, but that the food is hurting
our bodies. Fad diets are nutritionally unsound but have an exciting and new resolution to
everyones weight problems, yet they dont work and only cause a vicious yo-yo cycle of weight
gain and loss. The stress we have about food is causing so many women and even girls to turn to
dieting, but ultimately doing so will do nothing to help them.
Source #2
Boyle, Matthew. Can You Really Make Fast Food Healthy?. Fortune 150.3 (2004): 134-140.
Business Source Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Summary:
This article titled Can You Really Make Fast Food Healthy?, written by Matthew
Boyle, discusses the attempt some fast-food chains make to add healthier options to their menus.
It isnt as easy as it sounds. Who will really buy healthy options at a fast-food place? The fastfood industry seems to be the villain in the obesity crisis in America and they are trying to save
their reputation. But it turns out, Boyle states, to be awfully hard to devise healthier menu
items that can work in a fast-food context. Fast food has to be, well, fast. It has to taste good.
And it has to taste the same in California, Maine, and all points between. Just getting that much
accomplished can be an operational nightmarenever mind whether the food is healthier or not
(pp1). Wendys, one of the top fast-food chains in America, is in the middle of a tectonic shift,
says Boyle. As two-thirds of American adults are now officially overweight, the fast-food
industry no longer wants to be slapped with numerous lawsuits on behalf of overweight children.
This is why Wendys is planning an alternative to French fries, something much more exotic:,
Boyle explains, mandarin oranges (pp1). Fast-food companies cant find a dependable yearround supply of fresh melon, or the amount of time to cut up the fresh produce, so restaurants
like Wendys switched to oranges.
Boyle explains that Despite the popularity of the Atkins and South Beach diets, the more
stringent recommendations about cholesterol levels, and the ongoing concerns about an obesity
crisis in America, most of us dont really want to eat healthier when we walk into a fast-food
establishment. The great paradox of consumer behaviorthat we dont necessarily do what we

say were going to do seems almost doubly true when it comes to fast food (pp1). This
demonstrates the difficulty fast-food chains are facing when it comes to making their menus
healthier. Is it really worth it? Will customers actually order the healthier options?
Some brief history about fast-food is shared as Boyle explains how fast-food marketers
have become smarter and smarter as the years go by. What started out to be a multigrain bun and
a salad bar, quickly changed to taste-bud favorites that included anything that didnt include
words like lean and light. Now marketers have learned that consumers often perceive items
of higher quality as better for them, and often use words like slow-roasted, tender, grilled,
spicy, or fresh-cut.
The actual food served at fast-food chains isnt always what is unhealthy, it is what the
food is cooked in. The frying oils these restaurants use contain trans-fat which raises levels of
LDL, the bad cholesterol, and decreases HDL, the good cholesterol. According to Boyle,
hydrogenated vegetable oil laden in trans-fat is what fast-food restaurants have been cooking
chicken and potatoes in because it tastes good, has a long fry life, and is much cheaper than the
higher quality cooking oils. Plus, fast-food chains like McDonalds cant just change how they
cook their fries, they wouldnt taste the same and no one would buy them.
Fast-food restaurants attempted to create a healthier feeling in their restaurants as they
started to introduce their new salad lines. Wendys introduced its Garden Sensations salads,
McDonalds and Burger king also introduced their own salad line, attempting to entice the
healthy-food lovers. These salads have proven to be a difficulty for these restaurants: all the
ingredients have to be shipped and stored, they spoil easy, must come precut and take up
refrigerator space. Not only are they kind of impractical for the workers, these salads arent as
healthy as they appear. Some salads, like Wendys Chicken BLT salad with honey-mustard
dressing and garlic croutons, has more calories, more sodium, and more cholesterol than
Wendys Classic Single burger.
Boyle finishes out his article by explaining the contradictory feelings of fast-food
consumers and healthy eating. He says No matter how much they tell pollsters they care about
healthy food, they dont really give a hoot once theyve crossed the threshold of a fast-food
joint (pp3). Jarrett Paschel, a sociologist at consumer-research firm the Hartman Group, said
that Consumers want healthy food options, but they also want indulgent options, and they refuse
to have to choose between the two. Quite often theyre perfectly happy just knowing that the
healthier option is there at restaurants, but good luck getting them to order it (pp3).
Rhetorical Analysis:
Matthew Boyle does a very good job at using words that make his writing casual and
interesting. In the first line of his article, Boyle says Two hormone-free, grass-fed patties.
Special low-cal., nonfat sauce, Organic red-leaf lettuce. Reduced-fat cheese. Low-sodium
pickles. Vidalia onions. On a low-carb, multigrain bun. Yeah, right (pp1). These are words we
often associate with healthy food, which grab the readers attention since they think they are
supposed to be reading an article about fast food. Boyle is also able to create an image through
his words throughout his article. His tone also makes his writing more interesting. One example
of this is when he says, But it turns out to be awfully hard to devise healthier menu items that
can work in a fast-food context. Fast food has to be, well, fast. It has to taste good. And it has to
taste the same in California, Maine, and all points between. Just getting that much accomplished
can be an operational nightmarenever mind whether the food is healthier or not (pp1). His use

of sentence structure, period use, and vocabulary make this passage particularly interesting to
me.
Using words that are not very common, but very descriptive also make Boyles writing
more interesting. He uses words like tectonic shift, polemics, finesse, wizardry of food
science, and zoomed throughout his article. These are just a few examples of his exemplary
choice of words. Boyle also uses many examples in his article that make it more credible. He
provides some history and background information about the fast-food industry. He refers to the
Center for Culinary Development, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an oil supplier, a
nutrition professor, and multiple fast-food VPs, CEOs and executives.
Boyle is also effective in appealing to his audiences emotions. One specific example is
as follows: most of us dont really want to eat healthier when we walk into a fast-food
establishment, the great paradox of consumer behaviorthat we dont necessarily do what we
say were going to do seems almost doubly true when it comes to fast food (pp1). He explains
a lot of problems among consumers, their thoughts, and why many of us do and think what we
do. Not only does he appeal to the emotional side of readers, he also appeals to logic by
including things such as facts, evidence and references to experts.
Assessment:
I choose this article because it describes the confusion among the fast-food industry in
their attempt to incorporate healthy options in their menus. This confusion helps explains my
question: What is it about our culture that has created such an anxiety over the food we eat? We
blame the obesity crisis in America on the fast-food industry, when we really should be blaming
ourselves. Even if fast-food restaurants were to have a healthy menu, most consumers would
still order the popular, unhealthy options. It seems that as consumers, we arent sure what we
want. As Boyle stated, most of us dont really want to eat healthier when we walk into a fastfood establishment. The great paradox of consumer behaviorthat we dont necessarily do what
we say were going to do seems almost doubly true when it comes to fast food (pp1). Fast food
has become a huge part of our culture and although it is popular, it is also misleading. Perhaps it
is misleading though because as a society, we cannot escape from our unhealthy eating habits.
The fast food industry isnt helping anyone who may be attempting this, but after reading this
article I understand that in order for fast food to become healthy, most food would taste
different, likely pushing consumers away. So if we, as consumers, want the fast food restaurants
we so often attend to include healthier options, doesnt that mean we should choose to buy those
options? It seems that we either stress about the true healthiness of fast food, or the fact that we
cant seem to simply choose the healthier option if presented to us.
Source #3
Cheng, Maria. "World Obesity Study Find 'Grim' Statistic: Nearly Third Of People Fat."
Huffington Post. The Associated Press/The Canadian Press, 28 Aug. 2014. Web. 31 Oct.
2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/05/28/world-obesitystatistics_n_5406911.html>.
Summary:
The Huffington Post released an article in August that provides some grim statistics
of obesity in countries around the world. These statistics show that almost a third of the world is

now fat, and that no country has been able curb obesity rates in the last three decades (pp1).
According to this study, the US is said to have about 13 percent of the worlds fat population,
which is more than any other country. Christopher Murray of the Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation at the University of Washington led a study in which he and his colleagues reviewed
more than 1,700 studies covering 188 countries from 1980 to 2013 (pp1). Murray said that his
findings were pretty grim, and that when they realized not a single country has had a significant
decline in obesity, they could tell how hard a challenge obesity is.
Murray also suggests that there is a strong link between being rich and bigger waistlines.
He also mentions that scientists have been able to notice spikes in diabetes and the rates of
cancers linked to weight have also been rising.
The article mentions the World Health Organization, and its director-general, Dr.
Margaret Chan, who very bluntly states Our children are getting fatter. Parts of the world are
quite literally eating themselves to death (pp2). WHO advises us to consume no more than 5 per
cent of daily calories should come from sugar. Something that modernization has not only made
worse. Syed Shah, an obesity expert at United Arab Emirates University, found that obesity rates
have jumped even in remote Himalayan villages in Pakistan. He said Years ago, people had to
walk for hours if they wanted to make a phone call, now everyone has a cellphone (pp2). This
modernization has taken its toll in these villages. According to Shah, the villagers no longer
have to rely on their own farms for food, there are roads for companies to bring in processed
foods, and now Coke and Pepsi is everywhere when only 20 years ago, no one knew about it.
Rhetorical Analysis:
This article uses many rhetorical techniques that help the reader understand the
seriousness of the issue, relate it to current issues, and that make it a trustworthy source. The
author includes many facts and statistics, as well as reference to experts that make it a
trustworthy source. An example of this is when the article mentions Christopher Murray, who
works at the University of Washington, for the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, who
led a study where he and his colleagues reviewed more than 1,700 studies covering 188 countries
in the last 33 years. The article also quotes Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World
Health Organization, as well as Syed Shah, an obesity expert at United Arab Emirates
University. These experts and professionals establish credibility and make it a trustworthy
source. There are also many times that the author of the article makes it a relevant issue, not only
because it is, but because of how the words the author uses. She includes a quote by Shah, who
says that years ago Now everyone has a cellphone and No one knew about Coke and Pepsi
20 years ago. Now its everywhere (pp2). These are just a few examples of how the author uses
her words to make this a current and relevant article. She also uses her words, and the words of
others, to appeal to the emotions of her audience. By saying things like Our children are getting
fatter and Parts of the world are quite literally eating themselves to death (pp2), the author is
being very direct when discussing an issue that could be sensitive to some readers. Since she is
direct though, she does a good job at describing the seriousness of the issue.
Assessment:
I chose this article because I think it relates to my question: Why do we stress so much
about food? This article discusses the seriousness of rising obesity rates, but it also discusses the
modernization that countries all around the world have gone through that has changed what they
are putting into their bodies. Obesity is national problem that is stressful in many ways, whether

it be medical, financial, social, or physical. Obesity has made people lazy, but the food people
eat are making them obese. This modernization that is mentioned has caused people to stop
working for their food the way they used to, and it has caused what is being put into the body to
be more processed food instead of real food. So, why would this make people stress about food?
Instead of working for and enjoying nutritious food, the instant gratification that processed foods
provide create expectation for consumers. There is no longer a worry to work hard enough for
the food we eat, it now a worry to get the food we eat soon enough.
Source #4
Freedman, David H. How Junk Food Can End Obesity. (Cover Story). Atlantic 312.1 (2013):
68. MasterFILE Premeir. Web. 5 Nov. 2014.
Summary:
David H. Freedman, the author of the periodical titled How Junk Food Can End
Obesity, discusses the fantasy of the wholesome-foodie canon and how the evolving science of
processed food can solve the national obesity epidemic. Freedman shares a personal experience
as he searches for a healthy, low-calorie juice that is affordable, doesnt take too long to make,
and that tastes good. He informs us that the smoothies that were proclaimed healthy were
usually bitter and tasted like liquid celery. Some of the healthy smoothies that he tried were
also over his calorie limit, took over ten minutes to make, and were extremely expensive.
Freedman excitedly explains that I finally hit the sweet spot just a few weeks later with a
delicious blueberry-pomegranate smoothie that rang in at a relatively modest 220 calories. It cost
$3 and took only seconds to make. Best of all, Ill be able to get this concoction just about
anywhere. Thanks, McDonalds! (pp1). He had found something that fit his criteria, except for
the fact that it was from McDonalds so it must be fattening and unhealthy.
Freedman discusses how an enormous amount of media space has been dedicated to
promoting the notion that all processed food, and only processed food, is making us sickly and
overweight (pp1), something that each of us see and hear every day. We blame the fast-food
industry for addicting us to fat, sugar, and often hear things like what Michael Pollan, a
journalism professor at the University of California at Berkeley has to say: The food theyre
cooking is making people sick. It is one of the reason that we have the obesity and diabetes
epidemics that we do If youre going to let industries decide how much salt, sugar and fat is in
your food, theyre going to put in as much as they possibly can (pp1). Pollans solution: to
replace the fattening fast-food with fresh, unprocessed, local, seasonal, real food. Freedman
claims that Pollans view saturates the public conversation on healthy eating (pp1), and many
restaurants, grocery stores, especially the Whole Food Chain, have begun to return to natural,
simple, non-industrialized foods.
Freedman explains that there are few places that have invested in the wholesome food
controversy, and that even if the most influential voices in our food culture today were to get
their way, the inevitable food revolution would be only be tailored to the dubious health
fantasies of a small, elite minority, and the obese population would just continue to sicken. So if
healthy food isnt going to make us healthy, what is? Freedman argues that In fact, these
roundly demonized companies could do far more for the publics health in five years than the
wholesome-food movement is likely to accomplish in the next 50 (pp2). The wholesome-food
movement is causing more and more Whole Food Markets, and restaurants to be built. Freedman

claims that the products sold in these places arent always as they appear to be. Product labels on
wholesome products often list all of the good things, but fail to mention the not so good things
like fat content and sodium. Restaurants make their meals sound healthy, but they dont provide
any information on how the meal was made or what ingredients are in the food. Freedman claims
that these establishments tend to emphasize the healthy-sounding foods, making customers
forget about the possible oil, butter, refined grains, salt, and sugar that went in to making the
food.
Rhetorical Analysis:
Freedman uses many rhetorical techniques throughout is article that make it credible. To
start out with, the title How Junk Food Can End Obesity automatically pulls the reader in. How
in the world can junk food end obesity? By using words like local, unprocessed, farm fresh,
Freedman is wise at catching both the obese audience, and wholesome-foodie audience right in
the first sentence. This isnt the only place in Freedmans article that the word placement is both
interesting and relatable. He frequently refers to the health-nut people of society as foodies; he
describes the popular green smoothie using the words oddly foamy and bitter concoction,
and he creates vivid imagery if the readers mind as he says It smelled like lawn clippings and
tasted like liquid celery (pp1) when describing the same drink.
Freedman also references many so-called experts. One of which is Michael Pollan, a
journalism professor at the University of California at Berkeley, and quotes him many times.
Freedman argues against Pollan frequently throughout his article and explains that Pollans view
on processed food is much like that of many scientists, physicians, food activists, nutritionists,
and celebrity chefs. He also references Michael Pollans rival, Mark Bittman, who is The New
York Times Magazines lead food writer. Ron Rosenbaum is also quoted in this article, and
explains that eating basic, earthy, fatty foods isnt just a supreme experience of the senses it
can actually be good for you (pp3). Pollan goes on to say that he doesnt have a problem with
fat, as long as its not in food your great-grandmother wouldnt recognize (pp3). Freedman
also refers to Lenard Lesser, of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation.
Not only does Freedman quote these so-called experts and use their arguments to support
his claim, he also uses many examples that make his piece more credible. He shares his
experiences at the healthy-food eatery with the green smoothie that didnt quite fit his criteria
and his search to find something that did. How many people have been on the same search to
find something that was healthy, cheap, didnt take a long time to make, and that tasted good? He
is able to relate to many readers by sharing this. He also talks about Silicon Valley, claiming that
it is a place where tomorrows entrepreneurial and social trends are forged and has spawned a
small ecosystem of wholesome-friendly venture-capital farms (pp2), and gives specific
examples of movement being taken there to encourage healthy eating. Freedman also shares an
experience he had at a Whole Foods store where most of the food was the same as in a regular
supermarket, except for the items sprinkled throughout that scream wholesome. After
researching this product, he shares that along with its no-processing and no genetically
modified ingredients contents, this item contains more that three times the fat content per
ounce as the beef patty in a Big Mac, and four times the sodium (pp2). He shares this
experience to add credibility to his argument, that healthy food can be more unhealthy than
processed food. But no one know it. He continues to provide examples of more whole-food
stores and restaurants, including Trader Joes, Real Food Daily in Los Angeles, and others.
Using specific examples of exact meals, products, and places adds credibly to this piece.

Freedman includes scientific facts as well. He says this about fat: That science is, in fact,
fairly straightforward. Fat carries more than twice as many calories as carbohydrates and proteins
do per gram, which means just a little fat can turn a serving of food into a calorie bomb (pp3).
Adding more facts and evidence to his article, Freedman reference a few studies but never
mentions where they came from.
This article was written in 2013, proving that this is really a current issue we are facing.
Freedman uses examples that we see every day, including the ongoing argument against most of
McDonalds food, including the smoothie that he mentioned at the beginning of his article. He
says that wholesome is healthier because it doesnt have the artificial flavors, preservatives,
other additives, or genetically modified ingredients found in industrialized food; because it isnt
subjected to the physical transformations that processed foods go through; and because it doesnt
sit around for days, weeks, or months, as industrialized food sometimes does (pp4), and claims
that this is the complaint against McDonalds smoothie. Using this specific example allows his
audience to relate because they have possibly had the same smoothie, or the same thoughts about
processed food.
Assessment:
I chose to include this article because it was a different view than everything else I was
reading. When it comes to healthy food vs. processed food, the fast-food industry is typically the
culprit, and the solution to the obesity epidemic is to somehow cover the world with natural,
wholesome food. This article argued that. The obese population isnt going to flock to the
healthy stuff, they like what they eat. As much as these activists want to change what we eat,
they will only change the habits of those who care. This opposing view: that the fast food
industry has more influence on making the world healthier, is something that contradicts
everything we hear. There is constantly a new diet, a new exercise program, or new low-fat
foods that cover media, but we never hear the idea that we should be turning to the fast-food
industry for some help. This adds a new viewpoint to my original question: What about our
culture has created such an anxiety over food? What is it that makes us worry so much about
what we eat? And why is it so stressful to know what is good for us and what isnt? After reading
this article, I learn that we stress so much about what we eat in todays society because we dont
know what is good for us or what is bad for us. Labels are confusing and often deceptive,
providing us with only some information about the food. I learned that even if there are things
that we think are wholesome, healthy, and unprocessed, may still contain sickening amounts of
fat. How can consumers know the difference? There are so many opinions being thrown at us
every day: that fast-food is the solution, diets dont work, and there are only some foods we
should allow ourselves to eat, no wonder there is so much confusion when it comes to being
healthy.
Source #5
Greif, Judi. "Distorted Body Image Not Just For Girls." Clinical Advisor 17.4 (2014): 111.
CINAHL Complete. Web. 8 Nov. 2014.
Summary:
Judi Greif, a family nurse practitioner, talks about the rising issue of distorted body image
among boys and men. She says that, More and more men are becoming just as anxious about

their weight and appearance (pp1) as women are. Greif explains that Advertisements and other
media images increasingly feature men who are leaner yet more muscular, wearing fewer
clothes. Perhaps the most impressionable and most vulnerable to being influenced by these
images are adolescent boys and young mensome of whom have become drawn to the world of
celebrity athletes, bodybuilders (pp1), telling her readers that the prevailing media influence is
not just influencing young girls, but young boys as well.
Greif provides the results of multiple surveys throughout her commentary. One survey in
particular found that out of a number greater than 11,000 young boys aged 9 to 16 years, Greif
says that, more than one-fourth of boys (27%) reported making an effort to look like media
figures (pp1). Greif also reports that underweight boys are extremely distressedmuch more
so than are overweight boysand are at greater risk of depression than are overweight girls
(pp1). Clinicians are seeing more boys who suffer from eating disorders related to inappropriate
diets, as well as supplement and steroid use.
In another survey, Greif reports that of nearly 2,800 adolescents from 20 urban middle
and high schools, more than two-thirds of boys reported changing their eating habits to increase
their muscle mass or tone, and nine out of 10 boys exercised to accomplish the same goal (pp1).
Compulsive dieting and exercising may not seem like a big deal, but have been proven to be
detrimental to the development of young minds and bodies. Due to these extreme measures,
nearly half of the boys reported some unhealthy behavior related to muscle dysmorphia, a
condition that makes it appear that ones muscles are not big enough, even though they are
perfectly normal or even large compared to normal standards. According to Greif, nearly 35% of
these boys admitted to using protein powders or shakes, about 6% using steroids, and almost
11% using another type of so-called muscle-enhancing product (pp1). Investigators found that
particularly boys on sports teams are most likely to practice these muscle-enhancing behaviors.
Greif explains that pressure from coaches and other boys has been increasing the problem
within the last few years. The use of non-FDA-regulated protein supplements may help with
muscle growth but also have several adverse effects. Some of these adverse effects are cardiac
problems, psychiatric issues, severe acne, and short stature, and can affect male genital
development and fertility. Greif gives some good advice as she says that We must learn to strike
a balance between healthy eating plus appropriate physical training versus an unhealthy,
unrealistic obsession with being lean and muscular and manly (pp1).
Rhetorical Analysis:
Greif uses a few effective techniques in her commentary. She includes multiple statistics
and facts that add credibility to her piece. She is a family nurse practitioner, with her
commentary in the Clinical Advisor for Nurse Practitioners, which also adds credibility because
she is a reliable source.
Her commentary is short and straight to the point which I think makes it easier to
understand. This article came out in 2014, making it relevant to our time because it is happening
now. Greif is able to appeal to a wide audience as she mentions girls in the beginning and relates
how they feel to how many boys are feeling lately.
Assessment:
Greif talks about compulsive dieting, eating disorders, and inappropriate eating behaviors
among boys and men. She discusses what some of the causes of these things are and I think what
she talks about expands the question: What about our culture has created such an anxiety over

the food we eat? Why do we stress so much about food?, by demonstrating how women arent
they only ones who stress about their appearance and bodies because of media influence or
athletics, men also who struggle with these things. Women desire to be thin, often restricting
their intake to look like popular models and celebrities. Boys have some of the same tendencies,
but do so in order to be as toned and as muscular as popular athletes and bodybuilders. These
social influences naturally create a social standard that boys fill that should reach. Unfortunately,
one has to go to extreme measures to accomplish, often hurting themselves physically and
mentally.
Source #6
Maxfield, Mary. "Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating." They .Say / I Say:
The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010.
442-446. Print.
Summary:
What is it that seems to be making Americans so unhealthy, especially in comparison to
the French people who indulge in cheese, cream, and wine? Mary Maxfield, author of Food as
Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating, refers to journalist Micheal Pollan, who points
to what he considers to be an American paradox-a notably unhealthy population preoccupied
with. . . the idea of eating healthy (442). Is America too obsessed with becoming healthy that
we are forgetting how to be healthy? The confusion of how we should and should not eat is a
common cultural anxiety throughout the country. What food is right, what food is wrong? Pollan
argues that any and all theories of nutrition serve not the eater but the food industry (443), and
proposes his own theory of eliminating processed foods.
The food industry itself is confusing people over how to eat. According to Pollan though,
the solution is simple: Eat food, not too much, mostly plants (443), stating we should focusing
less on processed foods and more on whole, natural foods, especially plants. Maxfield criticizes
Pollan, stating that hes a critic of nutrition and food science who nevertheless bolsters the
American investment in those industries (443) as he tries to dismantle one paradox, he is
actually embodies another. The food industry and diet plans seem to work this way as well;
everything is contradicting itself, confusing consumers what to eat, how to eat it, and what is
right.
Maxfield goes on to encourage people to eat food, for we must remember that it has
historically served the purpose of providing fuel for our bodies. She states that The problem is
that our understanding of health is as based in culture as it is in fact (444). As a society, our
views are skewed and we often consider fatness fatal and thinness immortal (445). These
skewed views are said to facilitate skewed views of food: that there is a right or healthy
way of eating that involves eating less and eating differently than we instinctively would (445).
The moralization of food is becoming all too common in our culture. Maxfield and other
contributing authors explain that this is the attempt-in how we eat-to rise above our beastly
natures (446). It is striving to eat only the right foods, or the healthy ones and not listening
to our bodies. When we attempt to rise above our animal nature through the moralization of
food, Maxfield states, we unnecessarily complicate the practice of eating (446). We tend to
look at food as moral and immoral. Ideas of good, bad, healthy, and unhealthy are even forced
into our heads through culture. It is important to keep this culture in mind, but as Maxfield states,

it is even more important to remember the simple formula: Trust yourself. Trust your body.
Meet your needs (446).
Rhetorical Analysis:
Mary Maxfield, the author of Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating is
a blogger who is interested in bodies, gender, sexuality, politics, and rhetoric and graduated from
Fontbonne University. The article was written for a blog which isnt always a credible source;
the author did incorporate many words and views of other journalists, law professors, activists,
and nutritionists into her piece, which made it a little more credible. I think she knows what she
is talking about and brings up solid points to support her views. Maxfield also appealed to the
readers emotion when she quotes Michelle Allison, a nutritionist, who says there are a lot of
pressures and barriers in this world that get in our way, that confuse us, that distract us and
attempt to control us in counterproductive ways (445). For anyone who is amid all of the
confusion of what to eat and how to look, this statement may help to identify problematic
pressures and barriers in ones life, and help to eliminate them. Maxfield goes on to discuss very
eloquently, the connections between diet and health in our society. She states that the
connections between diet and health that we take as gospel apparently arent, and continues to
say that Pollan nevertheless adheres to contemporary common-sense science, making
assumptions about diet, health and weight that underpin the very food industry he critiques
(443). Her word choice is similar throughout the article as she talks about the religion in
science that presents itself in the moralizing of food. She also is able to use her words to invite
her audience to think of how our society does exactly what Pollan does, and how everything we
hear from food experts and the food industry seems to be a paradox.
Assessment:
This article is where my research question came from, and has affected the way I think
about the food and dieting industry. The way Maxfield was able to incorporate reasoning and
thinking behind the moralization of eating is something that I feel most Americans know, but
dont really think about. At least that is how it was for me; once I read what she had written
about the connections between diet, weight, and health, and the confusion we face on what foods
are right and what foods are wrong, and the rest of the article, it helped me understand the
way we tend to think about food now. What is it that has created such an anxiety over the food
we eat? The pressure to know, and eat, what is right can be overwhelming and confusing. It
also made me question why our society looks at food and health in the way that it does, and what
has made it change over time.
Conclusion
Every day we see pictures of thin women, tone men, and hear of those who have the
perfect body. It must be achievable if they can do it, right? The pressure to be thin and to be
socially accepted is something that far too many people struggle with these days. This
overwhelming desire can lead to extreme measures; compulsive dieting, restrictive eating, and
excessive exercise are all methods to losing weight, just like Abrahams piece, Adolescent
Eating Behaviour, and Greifs commentary, Distorted Body Image Not Just For Girls both
explain. The obese population in the U.S. and around the world is growing, according to Cheng
in her Huffington Post article World Obesity Study Find Grim Statistic: Nearly Third Of

People Fat. More people are getting sick, and even more children are suffering from the harmful
effects of our food. So, I wanted to know why there is such a hype when it comes to being
healthy. What is it that makes us worry and stress so much about what we are eating?
Needless to say, not everyone suffers from this hype and confusion. Some are educated
and some might not care, but there is a majority of adults and even adolescents in this country
that want to be a better version of themselves. Whether they are obese, overweight, or just want
to be healthier than they already are, there are many people searching for the key to weight loss.
Adolescent males and females even struggle with weight and body image at a young age.
Through the process of maturing and developing, the pressure to be accepted becomes
controlling and these youth often restrict their eating and may end up with eating disorders.
The constant stream of messages flowing to society through the media is confusing,
misleading, and lets face it, a lot of it is wrong. But does that stop us from listening? We are
continually confusing ourselves by listening to what the experts say we should be eating.
Maxfield critiques these experts in her article Food As Thought: Resisting the Moralization of
Eating and discusses the great paradox that abides in our country concerning experts and the
foods they claim we should eat. In todays society, we are moralizing food, placing some foods
in the right category and some in the wrong. Why cant we just eat what our body needs like
Maxfield points out?
The fast-food industry is blamed for the health crisis in America, and the journey to
healthy eating at these restaurants could be a long ways away. The sources titled How Junk
Food Can End Obesity and Can You Really Make Fast Food Healthy? both discuss the reason
for and against making fast food healthy. They both teach that consumers dont really want
healthy food, and it is a lot harder than it seems for convert the fast food into a version that is
healthier. For now, fast-food will continue to be the popular option for many Americans, dieting
will continue to be the solution, and the media will continue to deceive us to be like our favorite
celebrity or athlete. The pressure to be slim, to lose weight, gain muscle, and be healthy are
things that men and women struggle with every day. My sources address these pressures and
influences, and answer my question: What is it that created such an anxiety over food in our
society? So, why do we stress so much about food? Well, we dont know how stop worrying
about it. The constant messages we see and hear do nothing but add kindling to the fire, making
us worry about what we are eating even more. We want to be thin enough, pretty enough, and
healthy enough that we feel accepted. We want to eat the foods and do the things that will help
us accomplish that. What better way to do this that do exactly what the experts tell us to do?
Because lets face it, they know all the right and wrong answers, dont they? When will we,
as a society, become educated enough to make our own choices concerning our health?

What is it that has created such an anxiety over the food we eat?

Heidi Farley
Sue Briggs
English 1010, TR 2:30
December 8, 2014