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** Obesity in America: A Hindrance to our Nation **

 // Today 190 million Americans are overweight or obese. Obesity-related diseases are a 150 billion dollar medical burden every year. Childhood obesity has tripled in the last thirty years. The obesity epidemic encompasses broader debates, such as education, poverty, healthcare, and the power and influence the government grants the fast food industry. As obesity rates soar, the next generation of adults running the country is at risk.

** Mainstream Media: Example 1 ** **CBS News** Special: "Where America Stands on Obesity" Katie Couric and Seth Doane

media type="youtube" key="UCI6WeCnOZI" height="385" width="480" // 
 * News source is CBS, major television station with viewers around the country
 * Information is fact-based, educating the public of the current obesity situation in the US with statistics and doctor's facts
 * Triggers more in-depth thought - What is causing this epidemic? What measures can be made to improve it?
 * Elements of pathos trigger fear: sirens and horns with flashing images of overweight bodies, french fries and donuts, and fast food insignias, startling statistics on the screen
 * Viewers can form their own opinions because of balanced, informative tone instead of swaying "left" or "right"
 * CBS report gets to roots of the obesity problem: government action or not?
 * Constructive bias: Footage presents factual information with sound analysis/input from experts: fear motivates nation to take action on detrimental epidemic

[|Date aired: Jan 7, 2010]

**Citizen Media: Example 1 **  **Huffington Post**

[|"President's Obesity Task Force Findings Should be a Mandate for Congress"] By Penny Lee, Executive Director, Campaign to End Obesity Posted: May 11, 2010

"A set of 70 recommendations outlined today by First Lady Michelle Obama and an inter-agency Task Force on Childhood Obesity is so comprehensive, it ought to be considered a mandate for Congress. Fortunately, many of its action items are already manifested in existing legislation. And if Congress acts quickly on the proposed measures, Americans stand a real chance of reversing the obesity epidemic in the next generation.

Right now, we are experiencing the first generation in our history to potentially have a shorter lifespan than their parents. Two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children struggle with overweight and obesity. Obesity is now among the country's costliest medical conditions, and taxpayers, governments and businesses spend billions on obesity-related conditions each year, including an estimated $147 billion in medical costs.

So how are we going to reverse the tide of this epidemic? Many of the proposals that are central to the President's Childhood Obesity Task Force report -- and which have been long-advocated by the Campaign to End Obesity -- are also reflected in the Healthy CHOICES Act, legislation introduced just last week by Rep. Ron Kind, and the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, spearheaded by Sen. Blanche Lincoln and awaiting action in the Senate.

Among the Task Force recommendations are:

Indeed, as with other vital signs and risk factors, measuring body mass index (BMI) provides a quick and easy means of identifying an important threat to health (obesity). BMI should be treated like any other vital sign by patients, physicians and other health care providers. It should be measured and monitored frequently, including at each patient encounter, to help prevent the development of obesity or stop it from getting worse. And Representative Kind's legislation takes it a step further, providing for tracking and monitoring of BMI in public health coverage, public school-based clinics and maternal and child health services. It would also require BMI information to be provided in electronic health records for adults and children and in vaccination records for school-age children. Additionally, the Task Force identifies that:
 *  "Pediatricians should be encouraged to routinely calculate children's BMI and provide information to parents about how to help their children achieve a healthy weight." **

The Task Force is absolutely right. For all the cost and risk associated with it, obesity has yet to be addressed as a disease that can be diagnosed by physicians, covered by insurance companies and included in federal and state prevention and treatment programs. It's hard to imagine that a child whose BMI exceeds the 95th percentile cannot receive a proper, specific diagnosis from her doctor or treatment from her health plan, even as she risks correlating conditions like diabetes, heart disease, asthma, depression and even premature death. However, new cases like this will continue to emerge until we improve the delivery of care for patients with obesity.Congress and the health care community have an opportunity and an obligation to act. The Healthy CHOICES Act provides the right tools to help get Americans on the journey to a healthy weight, equipping doctors to diagnose and treat obesity and expand treatment and preventive services, including under Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP.
 *  "Federally-funded and private insurance plans should cover services necessary to prevent, assess, and provide care to overweight and obese children." **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

Our schools and federal food programs must be models of good nutrition, and -- given the extent to which they are a primary food source for so many Americans -- they must facilitate healthy eating. Federal food programs should improve the access and affordability of healthy foods in communities of need, and ensure that all foods sold at schools meet the USDA's nutritional guidelines. Sen. Lincoln's legislation realizes these principles, and moreover ensures that food served on school campuses "promotes student health and reduces childhood obesity," expands funding for nutritious meals and provides reimbursements for federal school lunches. The Task Force also declared that:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> "Update Federal nutritional standards for school meals and improve the nutritional quality of USDA commodities provided to schools." **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

In March, the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously passes the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 out of committee, and right now it awaits action from Senate leadership to be brought to the floor. This child nutrition reauthorization would establish standing local wellness policies for local school districts, including policies for physical education and food marketing and advertising. Additionally, it would provide assistance to schools through a clearinghouse and assure adequate assessment and evaluation. Lastly, among its recommendations, the Task Force laid out that:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> "School districts should be encouraged to create, post, and implement a strong local school wellness policy." **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">

We agree. When people don't have safe places to move or play, they're less likely to be active. Congress should continue to fund strategies to improve the nation's infrastructure in ways that encourage physical activity, and to support measures that promote physical fitness for children and adults. The Campaign to End Obesity has long advocated for the coordinated Federal response to the obesity epidemic. We commend the Task Force for working diligently these last few months with the goal of reversing this crisis among children within a generation. Now, the work begins. We need to make these recommendations a reality by making our voices heard on Capitol Hill. Call (202) 224-3121, and tell your Senator that you want to see Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 brought to the floor. You can also use that number to reach your Representative and encourage support of Representative Kind's Healthy CHOICES Act. Realizing these steps through tangible legislation, perhaps this generation will not have to suffer its very frightening diagnosis.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> "Active transport should be encouraged between homes, schools, and community destinations for afterschool activities, including to and from parks, libraries, transit, bus stops, and recreation centers." **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">


 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: left;"> Article from Huffington Post by Penny Lee, Executive Director for Campaign to End Obesity
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: left;">Lee provides a "left" view, believing that government should intervene and reform the healthcare system, food industries, school districts, and transportation systems decrease obesity rates.
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: left;">Sparks broader debate: //Should the government control our lifestyles? Are American institutions directly enabling obesity?//

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">
 * Mainstream Media: Example 2 **

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Fox News ** <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> O'Reilly Factor Segment featuring Mike Gallagher and Meme Roth <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: center;">media type="youtube" key="cBGgX6I8WgI" height="385" width="640" <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> [|Date aired: April 29, 2010]
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">New source: O'Reilly Factor on Fox News, Conservative television program
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Discussion between Meme Roth (President/Founder National Action Against Obesity) and Mike Gallagher (nationally-syndicated conservative talk radio host)
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Conservative "Fox News" tone appears in the news segment's headline and debate
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Typical "left" vs. "right" debate: //Should government reform privately-owned companies (even if it is for a good cause?)//
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Split screen: Progressive politics vs. conservative values
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Clash in values leads to unprofessional discourse that distracts viewers from the topic at hand
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Element of disrespect in debate
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Gallagher disregards low-income population and their dependency on fast food for survival / lack of inexpensive, healthy options
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Yes, Parents have control over their children's food intake. But the problem roots in parents' //necessity// to buy their children fast food
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Viewers may be inclined to sway "right" because of style/tone the information is presented in
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Headline: "Un-Happy Meals in California?"
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Gallagher dominates debate and interrupts Roth

**<span style="background-color: #176ea6; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Citizen Media: Example 2 **

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 120%;">Creators Syndicate: Michelle Malkin ** ==<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 90%; text-align: center;">[|Big Momma Michelle Obama: Food profiteer-turned-food cop] == <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%; text-align: center;"> By Michelle Malkin Posted: May 12, 2010 <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">[|Creators Syndicate] <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; text-align: center;">**Copyright 2010**

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Let me summarize first lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity agenda: Shed as I say, not as I gain. **While she crusades for organic foods and puts government pressure on corporations to stop marketing fast food and junk food to children, Mrs. Obama herself profited from the very same processed food industry she now demonizes.**

In June 2005, a few months after her husband was elected to the U.S. Senate, Mrs. Obama hustled a seat on the corporate Board of Directors of [|TreeHouse Foods, Inc] **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-weight: normal;">. Despite zero experience, the food-processing company put her on its audit and nominating and corporate governance committees. For her on-the-job training and the privilege of putting her name and face on their literature, the company forked over $45,000 in 2005 and $51,200 in 2006 to Mrs. Obama — as well as 7,500 TreeHouse stock options worth more than $72,000 for each year. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The chairman of the TreeHouse Foods board, ** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">[|**Sam K. Reed**]**, was a top executive at Kellogg’s and Keebler Foods, home of that great menace to children, the** [|**Keebler Elf**]**.** Before that, he headed up Mother’s Cake and Cookie Company. The conglomerate sells [|cheese sauces], [|Cremora non-dairy creamer],[| instant soup, puddings] and [|powdered soft drink mixes]. Hardly the stuff of Mrs. Obama’s new vision of nutritional paradise. TreeHouse is also a leading supplier of pickles used in the burgers of [|evil fast food chain McDonald’s] — exactly the kind of corporate restaurants Mrs. Obama is now targeting in her war on urban “food deserts.”


 * The corporation-bashing Mrs. Obama would have continued raking in her TreeHouse cash if it hadn’t been for her husband’s pesky pledge to pander to Big Labor and swear off Wal-Mart. The retail giant, you see, happened to be TreeHouse’s biggest customer. And Wal-Mart is to Big Labor as sunshine is to Dracula.**

In May 2007, Obama told AFL-CIO workers in Trenton, N.J., that Wal-Mart was dead to him. [|“I won’t shop there,”] he pledged, with an eye toward embarrassing then-chief rival Hillary Clinton, who had served on Wal-Mart’s board from 1986-1992. The AFL-CIO has waged relentless attacks on Wal-Mart, dubbing it the “Poster Store for Greed.” That, by extension, would make Mrs. Obama — all-too-happy recipient of a Wal-Mart dependent compensation package worth more than $100,000 in 2008, according to Securities and Exchange Commission records — a Poster Child for Ancillary Avarice.

Candidate Obama [|shrugged off]his wife’s conflict of interest. “Michelle and I have to live in the world and pay taxes and pay for our kids and save for retirement,” Obama explained to Crain’s Chicago Business magazine before his White House bid. Political expediency, alas, required that the candidate’s wife step down when the issue reared its head after Obama’s Wal-Mart bashing during the presidential campaign cycle. **True to form, Mrs. Obama turned the decision into an** [|**ostentatious display of martyrdom:**]


 * “As my campaign commitments continue to ramp up, it is becoming more difficult for me to provide the type of focus I would like on my professional responsibilities,” said** **Chicago’s Joan of Arc** in a resignation statement eight days after her husband declared his boycott of the stores stocked with food items processed and distributed by her TreeHouse colleagues. “My priorities, particularly at this important time, are ensuring that our young daughters feel a sense of comfort and normalcy in this process, and that I can support my husband in his presidential campaign to bring much needed change to this country.”

> <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> > > > **<span style="background-color: #176ea6; color: #ffffff; display: block; font-size: 120%; text-align: center;">Conclusion - Comparative Analysis ** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> Obesity in America has become an epidemic that threatens the health and productivity of the United States. As the government takes action to fight alarming obesity statistics, citizens react to new reforms based on their own political beliefs. Because governmental action against obesity intrudes on private companies’ endeavors, conservatives detest new reforms. Those on the left, however, applaud efforts like Michelle Obama’s Childhood Obesity Task Force, believing that new reforms of health care, school systems, and the money-minded snack and fast food industries are necessary to maintain a healthy population. Citizen and Mainstream media outlets both provide coverage on the obesity problem – but with different approaches, qualities of coverage, and biases. “Good coverage” can be defined as balanced, factual reports with no political side. As exhibited in the four examples presented, news coverage is not always “good coverage.”
 * She saw no conflict then. And she sees no conflict now in wielding her East Wing clout to restrict the advertising free speech of the food industry that lined her pocketbook with big, fat paychecks.** The Obama White House is on an insatiable control binge. No private space has been left behind — not your grocery aisles, not your children’s TV shows, not even your refrigerator.
 * Give the first lady this: She has an uncanny knack for wrapping her self-interests in the mantle of self-sacrifice and public service. It’s the Obama way.**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> Article by Michelle Malkin, prominent Conservative journalist, blogger, and syndicated columnist
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Attacks at Michelle Obama are aggressive and fail to acknowledge her efforts to strengthen the nation
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Malkin paints Michelle Obama as a hypocritical crook. Malkin fails to highlight the long time lapse between Obama's contradictory political decisions.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Malkin disregards Obama's constructive, beneficial reforms, highlighting her wrongdoings instead, creating imbalanced coverage
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Language is aggressive and accusatory: "Food profiteer-turned-food cop, "ostentatious display of martyrdom," "Chicago's Joan of Arc," "wrapping her self-interests in the mantle of self-sacrifice and public service. It's the Obama way."
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Example of citizen media being an outlet for passionate journalists to proliferate (often) controversial voices
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Extreme, exclusively-conservative views take away from quality of coverage
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Example 1: **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The first segments of Mainstream and Citizen media demonstrate elements of “good coverage” with traces of “left” biases. The CBS “Where America Stands” special exemplifies a mainstream media approach to news coverage. The special provides viewers with statistics, facts, and interviews with health professionals. While the special attempts to remain bias-free, elements of the video instill fear in viewers – for example, flashing images of obese bodies, deep-fried donuts and French fries, and siren and horn noises, paired with reporters listings daunting obesity statistics. The fear-instilling tone of the special may present a bias, however, the bias is beneficial to viewers. There is no doubt that the obesity epidemic is a serious one that threatens the future of the nation. Commentators do not contribute their personal political views on how the government should attack the obesity problem. However, a specialist from Yale University suggests that taxing junk food would reduce consumption, based on statistical trends of cigarette companies. In Penny Lee’s Huffington Post Article she, too, acknowledges the graveness of the obesity problem. This citizen media example sways more “left” than the CBS News special, as the author takes a definite side on government reforms, applauding the efforts of Michelle Obama’s Task Force and suggesting that her encouragements become a “mandate for congress.” While Lee manages to report what the task force entailed, demonstrating an element of “good coverage,” she follows up each “mandate” with a paragraph of praise and agreement, revealing her “leftist” views.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Example 2: **<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> The next two segments of Mainstream and Citizen media definitely have “right” biases. The fervent “right” tones of these two examples take away from their abilities to present “good coverage.” The O’Reilly Factor segment titled “Un-Happy Meals in California?” Two guests with polarized political beliefs discuss the decision of a board of supervisors in Santa Clara County, California to ban toys in McDonald’s Happy Meals. The segment presents an element of “good coverage” in the way that two opinions are presented to viewers. However, the conservative voice, Mike Gallagher, dominates discussion with his passionate, almost yelling, voice and aggressive commentary. Debate between Roth and Gallagher erupts into a full-blown argument. Viewers become entertained by the verbal battle, which distracts from focusing on the issue at hand. In Michelle Malkin’s column post, her Conservative views radiate in the text. Accusing Michelle Obama of being a money-minded hypocrite, Malkin deems her lucrative tenure on the board of Tree House Foods followed by her reforms to fight obesity “wrapping her self interests in the mantle of self-sacrifice and public service.” Malkin provides little to no coverage on the actual content of Obama’s task force, focusing her article on Obama’s career imperfections with aggressive name-calling and accusatory language. Malkin’s extreme point of view lacks any element of “good coverage,” as Malkin does not grant readers access to anyone else’s opinions but hers. Instead of acknowledging Obama’s efforts to better the nation, Malkin focuses on the negatives, deeming Obama’s resignation from the Tree House board and efforts to halt obesity as hypocritical instead of productive and progressive. Malkin’s column exemplifies Citizen Media’s ability to proliferate biased opinions of leftist and rightist journalists.