Monday, February 7, 2011
Fear for Our Future
We chose a blog centered around the growing problem of childhood obesity in our country titled "Help Cure Child Obesity" (http://www.helpcurechildobesity.com/child-obesity-in-america-blog.html). This blog uses fear in an attempt to enlighten us on the alarming statistics and trends surrounding the diets and lifestyles of today's young generation. The blog is using fear in an attempt to make it's audience feel obligated to change their lifestyles and reverse the alarming trends surrounding America's youth.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment was written using prompt 1. After observing the visual elements on this blog page, i believe there are two main concepts they implicitly show. The two young kids that are at the top of the page show an obese child eating and a smaller, healthier child flexing his muscles. Basically what they are showing is that healthy kids are happier and obese children are not as happy. After reading through these blogs, it seems that is the explicit explanation given for those pictures. In my opinion, this blog does effect peoples values and ideas by proving that children are indeed getting bigger as the future goes on. Hopefully it does open the eyes of those who may have bigger child and help them understand that being over weight is not good for a child and can be life-threatening.
ReplyDelete6. I decided to analyze the article No-Fad Teen Diets. The subject of the article was to set up a diet for your kids so as to help them lose weight. At the begining of the article it says "The image of the beautiful cheerleader and muscle bound football player is really still in existence. Yet teen obesity continues to grow, which means there are a lot of teens facing serious self-esteem issues." By saying this the author is essentially saying that by not being thing children will be unhappy and there is nothing that can be done about this. The only way to be happy is to be thin. this presents a fear in the parents that their child will be unhappy. The article then goes on to say "Teenagers are notorious for making the wrong decisions." This sentence places the thought into the parents' minds that their children can not be trusted to make their own decisions and that right should be taken out of their hands. To fortify this belief that the parents must take matters into their own hands before it's too late the article goes on to say that "Teens who are overweight or obese face many issues they should not have to confront at such an early age. These include peer ridicule, inability to participate in typical teenage activities such as sports, and self-image problems." This furthers the parents' fear that their child will be untypical, alienated, and lonely. The article then closes by sayng that there is only one way to grow healthily. By stating something so diffinitively the author is convincing parents that he/she knows the diffinitive ways to help their child. In this way the author becomes seemingly "all knowing". This makes the parents very trustingin regards to the author's opinion. Throughout the article the author speaks authoritatively yet cites none of his/her information. This could possibly mean that all of the information provided are his/her opinion.
ReplyDeleteI used method number 1 for my post. Visually speaking, at the top of the page, there are two children. On the left is a slightly overweight child with long curly hair eating a sandwich. Him eating the sandwich is the obvious idea of obesity. Granted, he's holding a footlong sub, but it is an interesting choice of food considering the sandwich seems to have lettuce and tomato sticking out of it. I thought that was interesting. His long curly hair may stand for him being wild and untamed. Also, the angle in which they show him makes it look like he has bags under his eyes signifying exhaustion or or maybe more specifically exhaustion due to junk food. On the right side of the page is the thin, overly-happy boy wearing a speedo. Why a speedo? Possibly to show he is athletic. I also looked into the color blue. It has a symbolic meaning to calm and sedate, the opposite of red, the color which actually makes people want to eat. I thought these implicit aspects of the page made it very interesting.
ReplyDelete1. The blog does not have a lot of color or extensive designs on any part of the layout. This could be to show readers that the blog writers only care about the information. This lack of flash and color could imply that the blog writers focus solely on the truth, and keeping people informed. On the top banner of the page where it says, "Help Cure Childhood Obesity" there are two children pictured. One child has a chubby face, and is holding a giant sandwich. This represents obesity in children today. The expression on the chubby child's face seems like one that expresses a lack of care, and some fatigue. The blog creators could be implying that allowing your child to become overweight is allowing your child to stop caring about good health and anything else, other than food, in general. The almost fatigued look on the child's face could be implying that overweight children tire more quickly and will experience that fatigue that is being shown. On the other half of the banner, a skinny, smiling, and flexing child is pictured. This could be implying that children that are not overweight are happier, shown by the large smile on the child's face. This picture could also be implying that healthier children take pride in their active lifestyles and strength, seen by the child flexing and smiling. The rest of the main page interface is just information and links to more information, plainly stated.
ReplyDelete1. Upon first looking at this blog I noticed the blue and white color scheme. At the top of the home page, exists the title: Help Cure Childhood Obesity. The words "our children-our future" reside below it. Also, on the left side of the title is a bigger looking child eating a large submarine sandwich. While on the right side, there is a small child smiling and giving a thumbs up. This may imply that children who eat healthier, and aren't obese, are happier. As I scrolled down, I noticed that there are links to different topics such as: eating disorders, diets, and overweight. Below these are links to subscribe to this site. Near the top of the page, there are also a few ads by Google that have to do with eating disorders and obesity. After looking at a few articles, I noticed that the only way to post and see comments is to subscribe to the site. After looking at the interface of this blog-site, I conclude that it is about helping to cure eating disorders, specifically childhood obesity. It is hard to tell whether it is effective though, as there are no comments I am able to view.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I noticed when I opened the blog is the bland, basic interface and the blue and white color scheme. Personally, I think that if someone is trying to attract people to read their blog, they should liven up the page so before the reader starts reading the posts, they will think it is a good blog. Despite the blog layout, the blog contains many articles and posts that are relative to its theme. I read several posts on teen nutrition and diets and I actually took some good information out of it. I also think that the blog does a good job at using fear to persuade its readers. For example, listing facts and statistics about the troubles of obese people will scare the readers from eating unhealthy.
ReplyDelete1. The format of this blog is very plain and easy to read. The pictures at the top depict a person eating a sandwich, and a boy posing in his underwear. The sandwich appears to be made on whole wheat bread, and it has lettuce and tomatoes. Therefore, the sandwich appears to be healthy. So by following the advice on this blog, you can be as fit and aware as the person eating this healthy sandwich. The boy is young and definitely NOT obese. Therefore, by following the advice on this blog you can help your children look as fit and healthy as this one, and they won't be obese. The main page has a list of articles where the heading is writtedn in bold type, followed by three lines of text from the article. This pulls the readers attention into the article. By only doing three lines where other blogs might put a paragraph, it makes it easier to get a quick gist of the article. Therefore, people will feel informed without having to read and interpret a lengthy description. The links on the left side lead to the main topics that the articles are divided under. Four of them are about obesity, which emphasizes the main fear this blog addresses. The title of the blog is very no-nonsense about its intent. They want to cure childhood obesity. The way this blog is very clear and simple makes it seem legitimate. Unlike some blogs, which are cluttered with pictures and advertising, this one has a basic intent to help the readers.
ReplyDelete1. The first things I noticed when I opened the blog is the two kids on the top of the screen and the title: Help Cure Child Obesity. The first kid I saw was the overweight kid holding a plump sub sandwich which I assumed to imply child obesity. I can’t exactly tell what his expression is, maybe depressed, but he definitely doesn’t seem happy. The second kid is smiling and flexing at the same time which could suggest that he’s happy to exercise, and he’s happy with the results he gets from exercising. He also has his shirt off which shows that he is comfortable with his body and isn’t scared to show it off as opposed to the other kid with his shirt on. I think the interface presents two options: either get educated and get good results in return, or continue with old habits and be sad and overweight.
ReplyDelete1. When I look at this blog, I first notice the blue background. I did some research to find out why the blog may have chosen the color blue, and I am positive I found the answer. According to Ezine Articles, one trick to eating less is by surrounding your settings or food with blue. They say that the color blue is an appetite suppressant, so eating on blue plates will make you eat less. The blog chose this color to give people or children that sense without them even noticing. The other main focus of this blog is the two children at the top of the page. The boy on the left represents an obese child. He is shown eating a sub that is way too much food for him, and he doesn't seem to be happy. The other child looks full of life and happiness. He looks athletic, and is even showing off his muscles. He represents the picture of a healthy, energetic child.
ReplyDelete1. Upon examining this blog, I first noticed the two boys at the top of the screen. The boy on the left, is shown eating a large sub sandwich, while the boy on the right, is in a speedo and he is flexing with a big smile on his face. It is clearly implied that the kid on the left represents obesity, while the boy on the right symbolizes being in shape and healthy. The boy on the left eating the sandwich is wearing a messed up white t-shirt and has uncombed curly hair, which implies that this kid has a wild and irresponsible personality. The size of the sandwich also implies the large quantities of food that people eat and as a result are not healthy and obese. The kid on the right, looks excited and seems to be happy, which implies that he is happy being fit and not obese. The colors of the blog, white and blue, indicate that this blog is trying to give off positive energy and encourage people to read this blog and learn about child obesity. Had they used colors such as black or red, it may not have given off a positive vibe like white and blue give off.
ReplyDelete6. In the blog post titled "Health Nutrition", the author introduces at least two unsupported claims. Not only do they present these claims as fact, but they even put them in bold to draw more attention to them. The claims that "The only way to control body fat is to eat less at every meal and get more active" and "Any program that promises weight loss without stressing exercise is simply trying to make a buck" are the kind of unsupported claims that blogs are famous for. The reason these claims are so easily identifiable is through use of words like "only way" and "any program", which imply that there aren't any exceptions anywhere.
ReplyDelete1. When looking at the homepage for this blog the first things I noticed were the two pictures of kids at the top. One kid is a little bit large with long and messy hair. He has a giant sandwich in his mouth and doesn't look very happy. The other kid is smiling and showing off his 8 year old bicep wearing nothing but a Speedo. This shows viewers of this blog that kids who are fit are more happy. This is simply biased because of what the website is trying to promote. Some kids are heavier than others but this doesn't mean that if you are a bigger person that you are less happy. This creates fear in people of potentially becoming overweight. The light blue background is an inviting one. It appears friendly to the readers. A harsher, darker color wouldn't be as inviting. It is clear that they want people to think that being fit is something that makes you comfortable. I feel like that also contributes to the fear because confidence is something that all people can attain but this type of suggestion makes it touch to be confident if you are overweight.
ReplyDelete