Eksamensopgave A 2006: Obesity (1HF)

1. Summary of Children teased and bullied at school over healthy food choices:

A survey of pupils´ eating habits from nursery to secondary school concludes that peer pressure, bullying, and media-influence are important factors in the mounting obesity among youngsters. The pupils link certain foods with gender, social class, clothes, music, and interests. Researchers interviewed 174 children in the United Kingdom and the results showed quite clearly, that snacks and fast food is the norm while pupils bringing home-cooked lunch or even low-cost brands are subjects to bullying and teasing. Some of the pupils even connected a great fast-food meal with naughty cartoon characters. The results lead to a discussion about whether vending machines selling sugary or fatty foods are to be phased out from schools in England, as is happening in Scotland and Wales.

2. Four texts:

The four texts argue in very different ways for the steep rising in obesity.
Each of the texts uses subjects of investigation which all reveal important, but very dissimilar factors to the epidemic.
One argues for the fact that immigrants to become socialized to U.S culture slip into American habits, while especially the African-American women might also be genetically predisposed.
Another text concludes that women who were on diet before they turned fourteen are more exposed to obesity. The basis for this conclusion is that early dieting may disrupt their metabolism.
The third text links television and obesity closely together. The main factor is that kids watching television are influenced by thousands of commercials for unhealthy food products.
The last text deals with a greater bullying problem in Britain schools. It’s a norm to eat fast food and if you don’t, or even choose low-cost brands, you’ll certainly be subject to bullying.

3. “Obese people have brought this problem upon themselves so they must deal with it themselves.”?

Of course there are some obese people who do nothing but eat and lay on their couch, but I would argue that it’s a miniature part of the body. I believe that these people have some really serious psychological problems which are reason to their behavior. The above mentioned texts are only dealing with small parts of the exogenous factors which cause obesity. Apart from them, we got a grand stress epidemic in the western world. It’s faster to by a meal at Mc. Donald’s than prepare dinner at home.
The number of obese people is rising in step with the industrial development. A lot of previously manual work is now done by machines. That causes less hard work. My opinion is that obese people have a part of the responsibility, but the society and the media industry have the mayor part.

4. Article for school magazine:

What’s better following four hours literary history, than a coke or a chocolate bar?
The management of this school has started to discuss whether our vending machines, selling sugary stuff, are for the benefit of the pupils or not. They have suggested a removal of the machines in an effort to improve our eating habits, but wouldn’t we just bring stuff from our home then? Or take a short walk to the nearest kiosk? If we would do that, there wouldn’t be a visible difference. But what about the moments when you move past the vending machines and the pictures of coke and sweet chocolate kind of force you to buy it? In those moments it would certainly make a difference!