Proposal Draft

A Proposal to Decrease the Prevalence of Childhood Obesity
For:
The School District of Oconee County
414 S Pine St
Walhalla, SC 29691

Submitted by:
Shakeeta Feaster
Department of English
Clemson University

October 19, 2009


















Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..1
II. Why is it a Problem…………………………………………………………………………………………….………………2
III. What We Hope to Do/Possible Solutions…………………………………………………………………………..3
IV. Action Plan……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3-4
V. References…………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………….…4

Executive Summary
We are writing to propose new ways of decreasing the prevalence of childhood obesity in our society. Over the past 50 years, childhood obesity has been steadily on the incline with no signs of slowing. Childhood obesity can lead to a number of health issues now and when they become older adults. We have identified several solutions to this epidemic including increasing the amount of physical activity children get at school, offering healthier food options at school, and educating children about the effects, positive and negative, of the foods they eat. If these solutions were to be implemented in elementary schools, the prevalence of childhood obesity and its related health effects would significantly decrease.

Childhood Obesity is a Severe Problem
For the youngest generation in our country, 9 million of them will be considered overweight or obese by age 6 (Ad Council, 2009). In South Carolina, 14% of high school students were obese in 2007 and that number is on the incline (1). The short term effects of childhood obesity include elevated blood pressure, cholesterol, a decreased energy level, and the possibility of having a negative well-being from being picked on by other students or from having a negative self-image. Childhood obesity also has many long-term effects, the most sever being a shorter life span. Research finds that 300,000 deaths a year are associated with obesity. Children who are obese have a seventy percent chance of being obese adults and this can lead to the onset of several chronic diseases including Type II Diabetes.



Possible Solutions
1. Require Physical Education classes in daily/weekly curriculum
2. Encourage physical activity outside of school
3. Incorporate healthier food/drink choices in school lunches and vending machines
a. Increase cost of “unhealthy” food choices
4. Incorporate nutrition education in school curriculum
a. Send information home to parents also so that families can be fully aware of food’s impact
b. Children would be more likely to adopt a healthier style of living if they were aware of the truly negative impacts that their diet has on their life (short- and long-term)

Action Plan
What Has Been Done So Far

Because this is such a problem in our society, not much has been done but there are several health initiatives in place that are trying to combat the issue. On the national scale, there is the “Play 60 campaign”, a NFL-sponsored program that uses NFL players to encourage kids to be physical active for at least 60 minutes a day. Here in South Carolina, there is the “Eat Smart, Move More” Initiative, whose vision is to “have a South Carolina in which healthy eating and active living are the pillars of healthy lifestyles in healthy communities” (Eat More, April 2009)

What We Hope to Do
On A basic level, we would encourage the students to be a part of the “Play 60” Initiative and get the recommended 60 minutes of play a day. On a policy level, we will encourage schools to contract with companies that serve healthy food so that it can replace “junk food” in the cafeteria and vending machines. Also, we would hope that the schools to hire a nutritionist and a wellness coach to help the schools more easily adapt to a healthier lifestyle and to draft the materials that would be sent home to the families so that they could adopt a healthy lifestyle also. We would also get the parents involved by having them offer their opinions during PTA and school board meetings about how we could make these programs a success.



References

Ad Council Childhood Obesity: Accessed online at www.adcouncil.gov

Figure 1. Accessed Online at http://eatsmartmovemoresc.org/sc-facts/

NFL Play 60: Accessed online at http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80b4a489&template=with-video&confirm=true

Analyzing Page Design in Advertisements

Activity 1: Although they are becoming increasingly difficult to find, locate an advertisement for cigarettes, another tobacco product, or an alcoholic beverage. Describe the advertisement and its use of page design. Explain why the designers of the advertisement selected the page design. How effective is the advertisement? How ethical is the advertisement's use of design? Explain your response.

I chose an ad for Skyy vodka. In the advertisement, there is a man in a very nice business suit holding the bottle and 2 glasses and he is standing provocatively over a woman in a bikini against a beautiful blue background on a beach. There is no text in the ad but there is subliminal messaging in their choice to not use words. I think that the advertisers chose this design to kind of work on the id of the male brain because they will equate drinking Skyy vodka with pretty women and will make them want to buy Skyy. Skyy is a very popular brand of vodka so I would say that this ad is very effective but that it could be viewed as misogynistic because of the woman being in nothing but a skimpy bikini while the man is in a business suit and is standing over here, legs spread. Or Skyy could be trying to convey that when you drink Skyy vodka, that work and play combine and you can have fun. The ethics are a little skewed because it is kind of assuming things in its advertising instead of using text to explicitly explain its meaning.

Marketing Flash Drives

Local Newspaper:
Electronics Company USA's newest product is the Cruzer Mini 1GB Flash Drive. Measuring only 2 inches in length, the Cruzer Mini is the latest in convenient portability. It works with most operating systems making the top choice in saving and transferring all your important files and family photos from computer to computer. It can be found at any of your local electronics stores.

Incoming students:
Looking for somewhere convenient to store all your term papers? Then look no further than the Cruzer Mini 1GB Flash Drive! With a retractable connector and measuring only about the size of a pack of gum, it is the ultimate in portability. It works with most operating systems and allows your files to be easily transferred from one computer to the next. You can find at any electronics store or at the computer store on campus.

Programming students:
Need something to save all the programs that you have taken weeks to create? Try the Cruzer Mini 1GB Flash Drive. It measures only about 2 inches but has a transfer of 450 mbps delivering both speed and portability when you need it most. Its driver connectivity is 2.0 but is able to be backward capable allowing you to use it on almost any computer and operating system (Windows 2000/XP/Vista and Mac OS X v10.12 and above needed). You can find it at your local electronics store or the computer store on campus.

A Misleading Graphic or No Big Deal?

A picture entitled “Epidemic Scorecard” was published in the New York Times in April 2003 and was meant to show all the epidemics of the world and how many people they kill a year. The main focus of the picture was SARS (a serious disease at the time). However, the picture was arranged so that SARS was a tiny bow of information down at the bottom with tuberculosis and malaria being the “main players”, i.e. the disease attracting the most attention. This graphic was criticized for being very misleading by misrepresenting the degree of severity of SARS and the other diseases on the picture.
In my opinion, this graphic was extremely misleading because it would lead the general public to believe that they should really be on the lookout for diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria but not pay too much attention to something like cardiovascular disease or tobacco use. Also, the text on the left side of the picture reiterates this point be saying that “SARS just isn’t as formidable a threat as we’ve made it out to be” (New York Times, 1). This is such a horrible statement to say because it could cause people to become careless and decrease their perceived risk of being infected with SARS or some of the other diseases that we see in the US. Because this information is being read in the New York Times, it is more likely to be taken seriously and could lead to disastrous results.
Being a health major, this statement really disturbs me because SARS is a serious threat and should not be taken lightly. In the Western world (mainly the United States), we have had many advances in medicine that has almost eradicated infectious diseases like TB or malaria but still have to worry about things like SARS or influenza, which is something that most of the readers of this article will most likely be exposed at some point in their lives. The biggest epidemic of TB was in the early 20th century but the SARS epidemic was only in 2003 so it is still a very real threat that could be ignited at any moment. This graphic would not have been so bad if it had been made known in clear text that these values were for the world’s population and that the numbers for the US would be in a much different order.

Since the song is about scientists trying to create something, I thought that this pic portrays that accurately.

Which Ethic Is Best?

Based on the definitions of the 4 different kinds of ethics, the best form to use would be a blend of Aristotelian and Kantian ethics. According to Kant, ethics are based on a sense of duty and material gain, self-interest, and the greatest good for the greatest number are all inconsequential. Aristotle's definition is similar to Kant's but is not based on a sense of duty. Aristotle says that concern for material gain and reciprocation is not what is important but the principle of justice and upholding the greater good is the reason to use ethics. He also says that the abandonment of material gain or self-interest is the basis of morality and ethics. Given these definitions, I would say that my next course of action would be to follow Aristotle's words of combining moral wisdom with practical wisdom to receive an ethical outcome and not worry about the backlash that I may encounter. My assignment as the technical communicator is to take the information and disseminate it to the public in an honest, concise, but explanatory way so that they are very well-informed. I cannot concern myself with being afraid of being labeled a "whistle-blower"; I have an obligation to the public to get the information to them. Also, I must write the information in such a way that it encompasses all people and not just a select few that look good on paper. People will be much more receptive to information if they believe that it concerns/applies to them. If you are a Black single mother of three, you are not going to read health-related materials about a White, middle-class, suburban family so it is important to keep the entire audience in mind while I am writing these pamphlets.