Moby Dick, Sophies World, East of Eden Essay Example for Free

Moby Dick, Sophies World, East of Eden Essay In today’s society, the issues of fate and free will are hotly debated, drawing in heated discussions of religion, chance, and the extent of free will. While some believe we have a significant amount of control over our lives exercised through free will in our choices, others believe an entirely different power is at hand in controlling our lives. These issues often find themselves associated in literature, with examples such as John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, and Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. Among these books, there are different interpretations on the role of fate and free will in human life. In particular, these three different works of literature express varying shows of balance between fate and free will, and how easily that balance can be changed. Ultimately, it is the decisions made by the different characters, the reasons behind their choices, and the respective consequences that ensue that lead understanding of the different demonstrations of the authors’ interpretations of free will and fate. Free will and fate are often regarded in terms of a balance, in that there is some of life that is controllable by using choice, represented as our free will, while there is still another portion where there is little to no control, something we call fate. This observation of a balance between free will and fate is especially seen in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. In Moby Dick, Ishmael, our protagonist, finds himself in the company of Queequeg, the chief harpooner aboard the Pequod. While together, Ishmael and Queequeg weave a mat, with Ishmael passing the shuttle through the threads on the loom while Queequeg strikes the woof with his sword, to tamp down the threads. During their weaving, Ishmael makes an observation in that their current activity was like how fate, free will, and chance worked, thinking, â€Å"it seemed as if this were the Loom of Time, and I myself were a shuttle mechanically weaving and weaving away at the fates†. Ishmael compares fate to the â€Å"fixed threads of warped of the warp subject to but one unchanging vibration† on the loom. He then connects free will to his actions, â€Å"with my own hand, I ply my own shuttle and weave my own destiny into these unalterable threads†. He puts t he final pieces together by saying that chance is like when Queequeg strikes the woof, being he was â€Å"sometimes hitting the woof slantingly, or crookedly, or strongly, or weakly† that led to â€Å"producing a corresponding contrast in the final aspect of the completed fabric†. His connection with the mat making and fate demonstrated his perspective of the balance between fate and free will, and perhaps brings to light one of the more major themes of Moby Dick. He believes that free will is bound by fixed limitations we perceive as fate, and that our choices are limited to what we can weave around our limitations, with the exception of random occurrences called chance, which can alter the limitations fate puts on our expressed free will. In Moby Dick, different motive often leads to different choices, which overall comes together to establish various consequences. Queequeg, one of the crewmembers under Captain Ahab, had fallen ill while aboard the Pequod. In absence of proper medicine and medical attention, the most obvious conclusion was that Queequeg was going to die aboard the ship. He had even prepared for death by having a coffin made for him. At the end of it all, when it had seemed that fate had established his end, Queequeg simply claimed that he re membered he had some duties left to do ashore, and that he still had responsibilities. With his own will, he tried defy fate by recovering from his illness, attempting to give himself time to do his business ashore. The fact that the motive behind his prolonging of death was due to his responsibilities, one could easily interpret his decisions as noble and respectable. However, Queequeg was but one of the two members of the Pequod who attempted to defy fate, the other of which being none other than the captain himself, Captain Ahab. After losing his leg in an encounter with Moby Dick, Captain Ahab had grown rather obsessed with capturing Moby Dick, much to the point of giving up his sanity. However with all the stories of the great sperm whale, and even now knowing how destructive the whale could be, it was safe to say his search for the whale was ill-fated. However, even with fate clearly saying that his trip would lead to his own demise and possibly more, he was determined to capture Moby Dick purely out of spite and vengeance, two reasons that are often seen in negative light. What it all came down to was Queequeg’s noble intentions in trying to defy fate allowed him to recover from his illness and gave him more time, while Captain Ahab’s bitter motives ultimately led to not only the demise of the Pequod and its crew (excluding Ishmael), but also that of his own. Perhaps this brings to light another major theme of Moby Dick, in that it is ultimately our decisions in life and the reasons behind them that shape up how fate operates in our individual lives. This, along with the idea of the existence of human free will limited by fate yet alterable by chance, establishes the general idea of fate and free will have a crucial roles in making it possible to understand and comprehend Moby Dick and all of its themes. Just as fate and free will have important roles in determining how life is experienced by an individual, they also have key roles and determining of how an individual behaves. In a sense, it’s almost as if the decision of how a human is natured is a determinant in establishing the line between good vs. evil in a person. This good vs. evil concept could especially be seen in John Steinbeck’s East of Eden. Caleb Trask, the protagonist, struggles throughout the book while in a fight where he tries to suppress and overcome his inner demons. Caleb, son of Adam and Cathy, had lived his life in the shadow of his brother Aron, who was obviously in better light with his father. While Aron symbolically was the embodiment of all that was good, Caleb was the opposite, having had embodied evil, like his mothe r. However, Caleb demonstrates the usage of free will in the struggle of overcoming evil. This is clearly shown during the confrontation of him and his mother, and his realization that Cathy is a prostitute. When Caleb meets with Cathy, Cathy tries to convince Caleb that in addition to her being evil herself, he also has the same evil within himself, and that he is more like her than he knows. However, he realizes otherwise, that he has choice in whether or not he would be evil. At the end of their conversation, Caleb reminisces on what Lee said, saying that, â€Å"I was afraid I had you in me†¦ [But] I’m my own. I don’t have to be you†. At this part of the story, Caleb demonstrates understanding of one of the major themes of the story, simply known as Timshel. Caleb realizes that it is his choice, his own free will to overcome evil. He establishes that while there is evil in all of us, we are all capable of overcoming that evil, and choosing whatever path we wish to walk, all by using free will. While Caleb had ultimately come to the conclusion that morality is a free choice, other characters of East of Eden had other interpretations of morality. Aron, Caleb’s brother, for example had a problem with the overcoming of evil. His world had been neatly put together for him so that he only had to face good in life, to the point where his mother’s evil proved too much for him. Cathy, had been convinced that world was nothing but evil, and therefore accepted it and settled for using deception in order to advance in life. In the end, however, the evil she had spent her life embodying herself in proved to be just as overwhelming to her as it was to her son Aron, and she ultimately commits suicide. Caleb, standing at the crossroads of good and evil, successfully applies Lee’s advice and realizes morality is free choice, and that free will and determination are enough to overcome evil and lead a life of righteousness. By accepting that humans are imperfect and sinful, Caleb was able to realize that humans don’t need to be perfect to be good, and that true goodness comes after overcoming evil. Because he had applied Timshel in his life he became capable of living a controllable life, one with a moral destiny that truly belonged to him. John Steinbeck’s in-depth coverage of the story of Caleb and his choices truly make Timshel, or â€Å"thou mayest†, a very powerful and key theme in East of Eden. The role of free will in this story establishes the fact that e vil can be overcome by human, regardless of fate, and all up to moral decision. Just as previously stated and seen in books like Moby Dick and East of Eden, free will and fate are often seen as in a balance, sometimes with the weight over on fate’s side or vice versa. However, there are instances where free will can completely overcome fate in cases where it doesn’t seem to the slightest bit possible. Such an example of impossible overcoming of fate with free will can be seen in Jostein Gaarder’s Sophie’s World. In Sophie’s World, the story of Sophie, a 14 year old girl who undergoes philosophy lessons, is followed. Sophie, who consistently receives notes not addressed to her but with ponderous questions such as â€Å"Who are you†, believes that her life is practical, and that she is living her own life. However though a complicated turn of events, it is shown that Sophie, along with her philosophy teacher Alberto, are both part of another man’s imagination, characters of his mind. Albert Knag, the man behind it a ll, can be seen as fate, in that he controls what happens to Sophie and Alberto showing that they do not truly have a choice, and that their sense of free will was but an illusion. Though the odds against them are tremendous, being they are characters in Knag’s book and in his mind, Sophie shows a giant show of free will and escape, using the help of Alberto. Using nothing but free will, Sophie does the impossible and escapes the book and becomes a spirit, able to roam the world but fated to have limited interaction with the world. However, it is shown that Sophie plans on attempting on have more and more influence in the real world and that she is not content with being an invisible person forever. Gaarder demonstrates a theme of how limitless free will truly is, and how fate can be overcome regardless of how the odds are stacked. With all three of these literary pieces, there is a similarity in that all three books cover the topic of fate and free will. However, these three books show different interpretations of the extent of the two factors, and what is and isn’t possible when interacting with the two. Such as in the case of Moby Dick, free will and fate are shown to be in a balance, with the two working around each other nicely. It is also seen that fate cannot be overcome, in that the demise of the entire crew was inevitable. In East of Eden, fate and free will were shown to have impact on how a person is perceived as good or evil, and how free will can potential allow one to completely overcome evil. In the case of fate, free will is shown to be able to overcome it, however only with tremendous effort and understanding. Similarly, in Sophie’s World, fate was able to be overcome, but again, only with a tremendous amount of effort and understanding. These three books together and their respec tive morals and themes can be directly applied to daily life. Free will and fate do have roles in human life, in that misfortunes can often be presented and perceived as fate, and naturally actions in the form of free will can additionally play in overcoming those misfortunes. By utilizing and exercising free will in daily life, the perception of fate as being something completely uncontrollable can easily be brought down to a more containable entity. Moreover, with the understanding of free will and fate that these three books offer, the opportunity for a life with a controllable moral future becomes available. In these three novels, the overall theme of a relation between free will and fate is existent. Respectively, the three authors of these books show their own interpretations of how fate and free will coincide, and how much control humans have on their own fate, or just how much free will they can exercise. However it is seen in all three books that with enough exercise of free will in the right light, positive events may occur, such as East of Eden’s Caleb overcoming evil, Moby Dick’s Queequeg recovery from his almost certain fatal illness, and Sophie’s World’s Sophie, who escaped her confinements of being a controlled character in another man’s mind. Though the authors may have had their own unique interpretation of fate and free will, with their respective limits, the overall message that all three authors would most likely agree on would be humans are given a tremendous amount of free will and are presented with different kinds of fate, and that what they choose to do with that free will ultimately decides how much fate will control their life.

Salvador Dali :: essays research papers fc

(1904-1989) Salvador Dali was born into a middle-class family on May 11th, 1904 in Figures Spain. In 1921 he entered the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid where he made friends with Federico Garcia Lorca, Luis Bunuel, and Eugenio Montes. He pursued his personal intersest in Cubism and Futurism. In June of 1923 Dali was suspended from the Academy for having indicated the students to rebel against the authorities of the school. He was let back in October of 1925, and a year later Dali was permanently expelled. In 1924 he was imprisoned in Figures and Gerona for political reasons. Dali joined the Surrealists in 1929 due to the influence of metaphysical paintings, and his contact with Miro. Dali developed his method over the next few years. He describes his method as 'paranoic-critical, a 'spontaneous method of irrational knowledge based on critical and systematic objectivation of delirious associations and interpretations.' Works he produced at this time include The Lugubrious Game 1929, The Persistence of Memory 1931, and Surrealist Objects, Gauges of Instantaneous Memory 1932. Salvador Dali was the top Surrealists of this time. Surrealism explored the subconscious, the dream world, and irrational elements of the psyche in the belief that the discoveries to be made from such exploration would be of more fundamental importance to the human condition than any other form of social analysis. Salvador Dali was very fascinated by the fleeting state of the mind between sleep and consciousness, dream and reality, sanity and insanity, as one in which the mind functioned purely, free from the constraints of logic and social behavior. He read psychological case histories, hoping to represent neuroses in an ultra-realistic style, objectifying the irrational with photographic accuracy. In 1936, Dali began painting in a classical manner again, switching between Italian, Spanish and pompier styles. Dali was very politically involved, and had some extreme opinions. He was fascinated with Hitler, and his relations with the rest of the Surrealist group became strained after 1934, breaking away in 1939 when he declared his support for Franco. He moved to the USA, living there from 1939-1948. Dali held many one-man shows during his career. He directed and was a part of many films including the first surrealist film "Un Chiea A Dalou A Andalusian Dog", with the director Luis Bunuel. In 1945 he designed the surrealistic dream sequence for Hitchcock's Spellbound, and filmed Don Juan Tenorio, in 1951. Salvador Dali :: essays research papers fc (1904-1989) Salvador Dali was born into a middle-class family on May 11th, 1904 in Figures Spain. In 1921 he entered the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts in Madrid where he made friends with Federico Garcia Lorca, Luis Bunuel, and Eugenio Montes. He pursued his personal intersest in Cubism and Futurism. In June of 1923 Dali was suspended from the Academy for having indicated the students to rebel against the authorities of the school. He was let back in October of 1925, and a year later Dali was permanently expelled. In 1924 he was imprisoned in Figures and Gerona for political reasons. Dali joined the Surrealists in 1929 due to the influence of metaphysical paintings, and his contact with Miro. Dali developed his method over the next few years. He describes his method as 'paranoic-critical, a 'spontaneous method of irrational knowledge based on critical and systematic objectivation of delirious associations and interpretations.' Works he produced at this time include The Lugubrious Game 1929, The Persistence of Memory 1931, and Surrealist Objects, Gauges of Instantaneous Memory 1932. Salvador Dali was the top Surrealists of this time. Surrealism explored the subconscious, the dream world, and irrational elements of the psyche in the belief that the discoveries to be made from such exploration would be of more fundamental importance to the human condition than any other form of social analysis. Salvador Dali was very fascinated by the fleeting state of the mind between sleep and consciousness, dream and reality, sanity and insanity, as one in which the mind functioned purely, free from the constraints of logic and social behavior. He read psychological case histories, hoping to represent neuroses in an ultra-realistic style, objectifying the irrational with photographic accuracy. In 1936, Dali began painting in a classical manner again, switching between Italian, Spanish and pompier styles. Dali was very politically involved, and had some extreme opinions. He was fascinated with Hitler, and his relations with the rest of the Surrealist group became strained after 1934, breaking away in 1939 when he declared his support for Franco. He moved to the USA, living there from 1939-1948. Dali held many one-man shows during his career. He directed and was a part of many films including the first surrealist film "Un Chiea A Dalou A Andalusian Dog", with the director Luis Bunuel. In 1945 he designed the surrealistic dream sequence for Hitchcock's Spellbound, and filmed Don Juan Tenorio, in 1951.

Psycho, the greatest film of all time?

This essay will attempt to show you the brilliance that is Psycho and how Alfred Hitchcock managed to create a film which even today grabs and retains the interest of any audience. The music in the film Psycho was a brand new idea at its time in the 1960s and acted like magic on audiences, making them sit in horror at the edge of their seats. The music in Psycho is ‘non-diagetic' and is performed by an all-strings orchestra. At the time when Psycho was released, using music that was played by an all-strings orchestra in horror movies was a brand new idea and startled film critics and the audience alike. This method of using high-pitched, sharp music was such an effective idea that many other horror films and television series adopted the thought and this style of music is still used to this day (for example, in Nightmare on Elm Street. Using an all-strings orchestra in Psycho was a fantastic way of building tension and it worked very effectively. The reason it worked so well was because the sound was so recognisable. This is because, as the music was played on and on-and-off basis, the audience gradually noticed that when the music played, something bad was probably about to happen. No other music could have been used in Psycho which would have created the same amount of tension in the movie and sounded so shrill and discordant. To a pre-1970s audience, the all-strings music was remarkably effective and the music by itself built tension. Nowadays, when a modern audience watches Psycho, they react in the same way as audiences over thirty years ago, even though they are used to music like this. The eerie sound of string instruments playing sharp scratchy notes, e. g. in the shower scene, still makes modern audiences sit on the edge of their seats and watch in suspense as the plot unfolds. The music in Alfred Hitchcock's horror films was so important and effective that without it the films would not have succeeded. It is possible to see that when his films are watched on mute, the suspense disappears and the film becomes boring and not at all exciting. Even the brilliant use of lighting and shadows is not enough to keep the interest of any audience watching Psycho without the music. The plot of Psycho is ingenious and has to be one of the greatest stories of all time. Alfred Hitchcock used a brilliant technique in all his films for retaining the audience's interest which he called â€Å"the McGuffin†i. Alfred Hitchcock used this technique in all his films to catch the viewer's attention and drive the plot. In Psycho, the McGuffin was the $40,000 in cash stolen by Marion. In the first half of the film, the audience is led to believe that the movie is essentially about the stolen money, and this alone envelops the viewer's attention because the plot is so tightly and perfectly constructed. By the end of the film though, few people remember that the money even existed, as the McGuffin is only really needed to move the audience into the Bates Hotel. The plot was designed very cleverly by Alfred Hitchcock. To grab his audience's attention, he made the audience ask questions. He does this right from the very beginning of Psycho until the end of it. For example, in the first scene alone, when Sam and Marion are meeting secretly during their lunch break, the audience is made to think: can Sam pay off his father's debts and his wife's alimony? Will they get married? Will they get caught together? etc. , etc. Forcing the audience to ask questions mentally, traps their attention, as they want to know the answers. Another way that the plot does well to catch and retain an audience's focus is the suspense which is built up so frequently. When suspense is built up, the audience always wants to know what will happen next. As the storyline twists and turns and the viewers get surprises, the audience becomes drawn into the film and becomes more involved. For instance, when the main character is suddenly killed halfway through the film in an unforgettable scene, the audience is left wondering: what will happen next? Who will be the new main character? All of these sudden changes in plot shock the viewer more and more and make the film more exciting and interesting. Another change in plot is when Sam, Lila, the sheriff and his wife meet after church in broad daylight. This break in the tension allows the viewer to relax and watch a different scene; one in daylight, which is not eerie and in shadow. This may appear to be an odd change in plot, but it helps keep all audiences focused. A very clever ingredient in Psycho, was Alfred Hitchcock's excellent positioning of objects on the film set. Using his complicated knowledge of filming and positioning, he created scenes which convinced the eye of an alteration to the truth. He set objects up, for instance, in the eerie house, which looked so normal and blended in with the film perfectly. He placed typical old-woman-objects in Norman's mother's bedroom to make the audience convinced that there really was an old woman living in the house and that she was still there. He also placed objects such as a toy fire engine and a male dole in Norman Bate's old room to make it suit its part. These little things are actually precisely positioned so that they suit the atmosphere and the audience sub-consciously notices them. All audiences, modern and old alike, notice these little differences and it is things like this which manage to retain the interest of an audience watching Psycho. Set pieces were not all small though. The large old Victorian style house atop a hill was specifically chosen for its image and its evil and dark appearance. The camera, throughout the whole film, always filmed this house from below, making it appear to tower over all else and cast a dark shadow over everything. The actors chosen for Psycho, despite in the case of most, being famous before its creation, were all picked after long deliberation by Alfred Hitchcock for their particular skillsi. Janet Leigh, for example, who played the part of Marion in Psycho, was chosen out of a list of seven possibilities. Most of the actors in Psycho were all very professional, popular and they all fitted perfectly; without them and their talent, the film could have easily turned out to be a failure (as Psycho's remake was). As all of the actors were so capable and Alfred Hitchcock directed them all so well, their talents shone through in this movie and they all appeared so realistic and their body language in Psycho was flawless. This goes for their dialogue too. They may have all been able to say their scripts, but the timing and their expressions and tones were all planned out by Hitchcock perfectly. The camera angles and lighting in Psycho are arguably the cleverest and most effective ever used in a film. Alfred Hitchcock personally worked out every camera angle and every scene in Psycho. He used the camera to guide the story, build the tension and throw twists into the ending. The camera angles used are legendary. Using Alfred Hitchcock's directing genius, one of the most famous scenes in cinematic history was created. In this one scene (the ‘Shower Scene' as it is now commonly known), seventy camera angles were used, intermixed with quick cuts to emphasise the brutality of the act; yet the knife is never actually seen penetrating Marion's body. Marion is filmed in the shower from so many different angles so that suspense is built up as the audience knows something bad must be about to happen. She looks vulnerable in the shower without any clothes and she is unsuspecting – her expression is one of concentration, on showering. All this put together, combined with Alfred Hitchcock's directing, creates an extremely scary, exciting and memorable scene. Alfred Hitchcock was obviously very talented, and when it came to the camera's positioning and lighting, he always managed to create brilliant pictures. Without using sound, Hitchcock could make people look nervous, vulnerable, strange, powerful, dangerous etc. by just using camera angles. For instance, to make the private investigator look vulnerable as he walked upstairs and reached the landing, the camera filmed him from above, looking down on him so that he looked alone and vulnerable. There was only one poorly created scene in the whole film. This was the stair scene, when Arbogast, the private investigator, falls down the stairs with a knife wound. To a 1960s audience, this scene seemed to be extremely realistic and well filmed. Unfortunately it is spoilt on a modern audience as nowadays everyone is so used to graphics and special effects that the stair scene appeared comical to us, as it wasn't realistic. It was quite obvious that there was a film of stairs coming towards the audience being played behind the falling private investigator. The lighting in Psycho was used to great effect and was directed fantastically. Alfred Hitchcock managed to create different atmospheres in different scenes by his use of lighting and shadows. For instance, in the climax scene, when Norman Bates runs into the fruit cellar with a knife, the lighting is fantastic. When the camera turns to look at Norman's mother's wrinkled, mummified face, as the bulb swings creating strobe flashing, in the hollows of her eyes, shadows dance against the inside of her skull which creates an illusion of a mad, mirthful response to the scene before her. Today, Psycho is still looked upon as a brilliant and unique film, which even now manages to grab and retain the interest of any audience. No other film has ever managed to outclass Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece in complexity or in cleverness. The black and white photography used is perfect for the film's tone and mood – colour would merely have blurred the nightmarish quality. Psycho is an exceptional film, which altered the course of cinematic history, and its brilliance will always be recognised.

Obesity Is A Major Concern For Health Advocates - 1239 Words

As America’s children find more enjoyment out of technology, they become more stagnant and prone to weight gain and obesity. Over the past thirty years, the child obesity rate has tripled so that, â€Å"nearly 20 percent of the nation’s children ages 6 to 11 and 18 percent of those 12 to 19 are considered obese† (Chandler, Seiss). Child obesity is a major concern for health advocates because obesity can lead to other health problems such as diabetes and heart issues. It is hard to think about children who have so many weight-related medical concerns at such a young age. For those reasons, there is, â€Å"a national effort to mobilize a generation that has been labeled the most sedentary in the nation’s history† (Chandler). Children have also become less physical because of the No Child Left Behind Law that required more time spent on academics (Kerr). In order to find more classroom time without extending the school day, many administrators are cutt ing gym class and recess. Michael Chandler, author of â€Å"In PE, Dodgeball Is Out. Zumba Is In,† states that, â€Å"In a 2007 survey of school administrators, 44 percent reported cutting time from physical education and recess, as well as other subjects, to increase reading and math instruction† (Chandler). Because of the benefits of PE classes that accompany a rise in child obesity, all schools should mandate students grades K-12 to participate in a daily PE class, even if it means cutting into academics. Those who disagree with mandatory gymShow MoreRelatedThe Media s Impact On Health Policies1068 Words   |  5 Pagesabout certain health issues from mainstream media outlets. Health professionals take different approaches to understand a health-related problem that can affect the potential interventions and policies implemented. The approach taken by the media when presenting information on health can have a major impact on how the public understands health. It is, therefore, important to examine how the representation of health in the media can impact health policies. A specific health concern that is dramaticallyRead MoreObesity : A Study Focused On Obesity1435 Words   |  6 PagesA study focused on obesity published by Navaneelan and Janz (2014) concluded that, â€Å"Obesity has become one of the world’s greatest health concerns and threatens to undo gains made in life expectancy during the 20th century† (p. 1). â€Å"Obesity is defined as abnormal excessive fat accumulation that may impair health† (World Health Organization, 2015). In order to tackle the concerns of obesity, nurses should develop an understanding of the family’s needs and goals in order to determine family nursingRead MoreResearch Paper: The Roles, Obligations, and Responsibilities of the Modern Nurse909 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿HEALTH POLICY PAPER THE ROLE OF THE NURSE Defining the Roles, Obligations, and Responsibilities of the Modern Nurse Contemporary nursing has become a highly specialized field with numerous different practice areas and corresponding roles, obligations, and responsibilities. Yet, in spite of the broad range of specialization and practice areas, nurses continue to share basic fundamental roles as members of their profession. For example, nurses have responsibilities as patient educators in any interactionRead MoreThe Importance Of Policy-Priority Issue Of Obesity1252 Words   |  6 Pagesof legislator Plan for presentation The incidence of obesity continues to escalate; worldwide obesity is twice as prevalent as it was in 1980, and in the United States in 1959 less than 15% of Americans were overweight or obese, however, by 2010, that number had risen to almost 70%, and that percentage could be as high as 90% by 2030 (cite FORTUNA, #2, #6). In this author’s community, both adults and children have a higher rate of obesity, and its concomitant diseases, such as hypertension, diabetesRead MoreObesity Epidemic in America1748 Words   |  7 Pagesthe fattest country in the world. Obesity in America has reach epidemic proportions. Obesity and weight gain has become major concern of public health in the United States. In every state, at least twenty percent of adults are obese, and in twelve of these states the obesity rate is above thirty percent. Mississippi currently holds the highest rate of obesity with 34.9 percent of its residents being obese. On the contrary, Colorado has the lowest rate o f obesity with 20.7 percent. CNN estimated thatRead MoreObesity And The Body Weight Ideals1241 Words   |  5 Pagesfrom one individual to another. What is referred to as normal may not have definite dimensional measures but just arbitrary. Obesity to most people globally may be based on societal body weight ideals. Whatever be the definition of obesity any society, the fact remains that, when has a BMI of over twenty nine, health problems begin to pile up. The following data on obesity is quoted from the National Institute of Diabetes and digestive diseases (2012). Adults Age 20 and Older 2 More than two-thirdsRead MoreThe Local Role of Nurses in International Health Policy691 Words   |  3 PagesThe Local Role of Nurses in International Health Policy The global obesity epidemic has been recognized as a significant health threat to developed nations by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2013). Globally the number of obese individuals, over 1.4 billion adults, has doubled since 1980. This represented 11% of all adults aged 20 and over in 2008. Another 35% of this age group was considered overweight. Even more troubling is the increasing number of children who were considered overweight inRead MoreObesity Is A Matter Of Personal Responsibility1212 Words   |  5 Pagesmany people who believe that obesity is a matter of personal responsibility. Many people think it is Americans are the ones who to blame and not the fast food industry. Many people may say that it is easy to blame obesity on what Americans eat. However, these people do not realize that many Americans cannot afford healthy foods. So, since fast foods are cheap and affordable, it may be why many people choose them. In the article â€Å"Physical activity and childhood obesity† Green, Riley, and Hargrove explainRead MoreJunk Food in Schools1480 Words   |  6 Pagesingredients. However, things get tricky when such activities put the lives of innocent students at risk. Concerns about Junk Food in Public Schools According to Smith (2011), school children eat one-third of their meals at school during any academic year. As a result, American schools are in a unique position to help improve youth dietary behaviors and prevent cases of obesity. As childhood obesity has dramatically increased over the past few decades, the food offered in schools and school environmentRead MoreNutrition And Weight Status : Preventing Childhood Obesity1478 Words   |  6 PagesNutrition and Weight Status: Preventing Childhood Obesity A healthy diet is the foundation for achieving a healthy lifestyle. Nutrition, the intake of food in order to provide the body with its dietary needs, is important when referring to a healthy diet (Potter, Perry, Stockert Hall, 2013). Nutrition is good when the body receives the essentially balanced nourishment required to sustain life and successfully perform bodily functions. However, poor nutrition can result in decreased productivity