Elizabeth+L.+-+POSITION+PAPER

= How is health becoming women's number one concern in society? = Women should be losing weight in a healthy fashion not doing what ever it takes to get the weight off.

Its obvious that almost every girl you meet is concerned about her health. Revolution changed how the "old skinny" is easier to achieve than the "new skinny" and women have become obsessed with staying up to date with it. This produced a society with women who will go to drastic measure to achieve the new skinny, this could lead to an eating disorder, over exercising, and using diet supplements. My position, that medical and food industries inform women of nutrition and restrict supplements and over exercising. The benefits would be that women as a whole would be healthier and happier and their life span would increase.

In society today there more than 300,000 deaths annually just because of being over weight. "Many Americans who lack the time or will are turning to medically assisted weight loss and diet drugs that promise to melt away pounds without significant lifestyle changes. Few of the drugs have been rigorously tested, and some have proven dangerous" (Adriel Bettelheim). According to this most Americans are just falling toward the loss weight no effort path and are seriously damaging their bodies, without even knowing it. Another path people are taking is to just stop eating in general which is proven fatal and is damaging to your body.” Americans blame the nations obsession with appearances for causing eating disorders" also "patient advocates are pushing Congress to require insurers to cover more of the costs of treatment and to making eating disorders a national priority-just like obesity" (Pamela M. Prah). This is practically stating that Americans are willing to go to such drastic measures to lose weight even if it damages your body. The problem in today's society is that people need to realize that they will get diseases or die if they continue treating themselves like this. We as a country need to provide the information to show and explain how to stop these inhuman like actions.

The revolution with women's health in today's society is that women have gone through stages like when they weren't aloud to participate in athletics or known to workout. In other words it would be the feminist revolution because women are taking charge. Then years later they were approved to be able to workout more often and participate in athletics. Now in present day society I believe that women have got tired of working out or they simple just don't have the time so they use substitutes that are harmful to their bodies when they don't even realize it. The issue with this is that since dietary supplements have been released to over the counter in 1997 heart attack and strokes have increased by 16% (Trebilcock). Also "in recent years, the FDA has gone after more than 70 tainted weight loss products, many with the names like Slim Burn, 24 Hours Diet, and Natural Model, after finding that they had been adulterated with undeclared stimulants, diuretics, and antidepressants, often in amounts exceeding the maximum recommended dosages at which such drugs can be prescribes" (Trebilcock). This is meaning that people don't know that these dietary supplements have been altered with to make better results with more dangerous side affects.

Reactions to this problem have been extensive, like a said the amount of heart attacks and stroke has increased by 16% in the past 15 years. This diet pills typically affect women more than men because they are the ones that typically care more about what they look like, in the media there are many influences that reflect on people such as magazines, T.V. shows, movies, and celebrities play a huge role on how middle class people carry themselves. Usually diet pills are for people with a BMI above 30 and between ages of 19-64 but if younger or older it can be very damaging (Bettelheim). Women that are not willing to go buy dietary supplements either because of embarrassment or because they don't have the time or money go with other tactics, such as anorexia. Currently about 10 million women in today's society die each year from some sort of anorexia, which is an extremely high amount considering their are 150 million women in the United States (Prah). These numbers are climbing each day and today's society as a whole is becoming unhealthier by the second with all the supplements and diseases that are caused by women being obsessed with what they appear to look like and the influences that make them have an ideal look in their brain.

In the past most women didn't participate in physical activity. According to Kathryn Cullen-DuPont, "from 1900 on the twentieth century has provided ever-increasing opportunities for female athletes". In other words since there was a huge increase in women physical activity women started getting better body results. Women started taking more notice in these results and wanted better results than what they were receiving. This is when women started taking on diet supplements and not eating as much or purging their food they ate. This up rise started in the 1990s and had increased ever since (Trebilcock). In 1972 is when women really got noticed in physical activity because Congress passed the Higher Education Act which with in states that "no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program" (American Government). This act made it so women could participate in physical activity with out any boundaries or limitations or discrimination's. Our societies problem today is that they are not getting the results they want and they have to go through different processes to get the weight off.

Women started to use diet supplements that were hurting their body and barley having any effects on them but they didn't want to put forth the time to exercise. This was, in the eyes of women a new revolution because they could supposedly get skinny without exercising and you could still eat whatever you wanted (Bettelheim). Others chose a path more secretively because they were ashamed of "trying to lose weight".

The earlier Generations had the problem of how they were not aloud to participate in athletics or physical activity, so they had to protest and gain support by other women which was an era called the progressive, women's suffrage played a huge role during this. This is when they gain support and they got the "okay" to participate or for it to be normal if women wanted to include physical activity in to their daily lives. After that it skyrocketed with great up rises with women and physical activity to where women were not content with their results anymore. This is how society changed because women wanted more so they went to drastic measures to achieve and also women got lazier (Cullen-DuPont). This continues in today's society because women still are wanting better results and with our country increasing in technology so rapidly the pills just keep coming and they are able to produce much stronger ones than back in the 1990s.

I believe that women should lose weight in a healthy fashion instead of doing whatever it takes to get it off. This thesis addresses my research question because how is health becoming women's number one concern in today's society is related to women need to lose the weight in a healthy way and they are becoming obsessed with it and making it there number on priority. Women say that you almost have to be obsessed with losing weight to be successful. This revolution is practically the feminist revolution because the women finally realized that they were people to and that they had to start taking care of themselves but then it turned into an obsession that has taken over our lives and people are thinking they are healthy, also known as skinny but now the perception of skinny is unhealthy. According to Christopher Wanjek women had a tendency to want to rely on more things, for this example its diet supplements and women if they are lazy and don't have the time they just rely on these. Also according to Encyclopedia Britannica this revolution in society had been such a great increase that we are not sure if it is turning into a negative thing or not. For this problem that women are doing bad things to themselves if they want to lose weight instead of exercising. According to Carol Sorgen men and women's exercise differs because she says men have a bigger drive to workout than women and men don't care as much as women do about how they look. I want to make diet supplements be prescribed by your family doctor and they can’t be over the counter and I want you doctors to closely watch your weight gain and lose to make sure your not suffering from an eating disorder. The benefits of this would be that women would be a lot healthier and they will be more positive and feel better about themselves. This will be more successful than others in the past because this will be enforced, as a law to make sure women are not hurting themselves.

In past generations science and technology has increased greatly for women. "Contemporary women's health research has resulted in women being much more aware of how to take care of their bodies" (Jefferson). Women have found new items such as diet supplements to make them skinny and fast. This is a huge progression for women because before "women from the past generations did not know how to properly take care of themselves for many reasons" (Jefferson). The opponents for this objection would be definitely the scientist and women because scientists would lose business if women didn't buy their products and women because they wouldn't be able to get skinny so fast.

The objection is that women in today's society are better than ever before stated by Roland Jefferson. This is an objection because according to Anissa Orr " an obsession with exercise and diet supplements is very common in women with eating disorders". "These women feel compelled to do so and in spite of having injuries" (Orr). This is for women especially with eating disorders because they are people "who over exercise in an attempt to burn off calories, build muscle or attain physical perfection or with women whose body perception doesn't match reality" (Orr).

This situation with women over exercising and using diet pills is a serious situation because no body realizes that women can be in danger with their health, they are to mesmerized by the results of diet pills and how "good" it makes them feel. This is a desirable strategy because the women need to be informed of better nutrition by the FDA or medical industries because of the faulty information coming out.

The opponents specifically in this argument would be women with eating disorders because they are in denial that something is wrong with them. According to the National Eating Disorders Organization there are common "myths" or in other words women with eating disorders is all right to have. "A person cannot die from bulimia" and they state that when people think anorexia they think starvation but actually women eat food (National Eating Disorder Organization). This article is saying all the things about eating disorders is not true and that it isn't as serious as people think it is when it comes to illnesses.

These arguments are nowhere near accurate because another articles from the Nation Eating Disorder Organization states "they are common. Anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder are on the rise in the US and worldwide" (National Eating Disorder Organization). This is proof that eating disorders are rising in today's society. Also "Anorexia nervosa ranks as the 3rd most common chronic illness among adolescent US females" (Nation Eating Disorder Organization). This is not just any sickness; it's a disease that women are developing because they are not satisfied with their physical image. This is the type of disease that "long after a person has reached his or her initial target weight they have the need to continue" (National Eating Disorder Organization). In other words its terminal and doesn't go away like any cold you catch. This is why eating disorders are a serious issue in today's society among women and they tend to get carried away with their body image and health, that's how they developed eating disorders.

Following my guidelines will improve your health and make you feel like a better person in the long run. If medical and food industries inform women of nutrition and restrict supplements and watch over exercising, it will improve our society and make everyone happier in the long run. According to National Eating Disorder Organization an eating disorder is terminal and it will be difficult to over come rather than just being informed of it first and it not happening to you.

The opponent’s objection for my third argument is that there is no such thing as to much exercise and that it doesn't matter how much exercise you participate in. The direct opponent in this would have to be women who love and enjoy exercising more than once a day. "It is nearly impossible to draw a clear line dividing a healthy amount of exercise from too much" (Gavin). This supporting that it depends on what type of person you are, some people love to exercise, so they do it more and its opposite sometimes for others. It also states that "the majority of them are female" who strongly believe in no limits for exercising (Gavin). This supporting material is for women who don't think there is such a thing as over exercising

My opponents objections are very short sighted because according to kids health organization " a female no longer chooses to exercise but feels compelled to do so and struggles with guilt and anxiety if she doesn't work out" (Gavin). This is supporting my argument that there is such thing as a compulsive exercise disorder and its very distracting to the mind. The government’s dietary guidelines in 2005 stated that at least 60 minutes of physical activity is a normal amount of exercise if you work out everyday. This is why my opponent’s opinion is incorrect. This is also why medical and food industries need to inform women of nutrition and restrict supplements and over exercising.

My position is very reasonable and desirable because if we don't stop now "Compulsive exercising can breed other compulsive behavior" and his would lead the women in our society to self-destruction from something they didn't even realize they were doing this to their bodies. Benefits from stopping over exercising could last a long time because of our health increasing positively.

My three opponents objections was that dietary supplements are not harmful to a person’s body and it boosts people health. My second opponent’s objection was that eating disorders have a lot of myths to them and they are not as harmful as people think. My third opponent’s objection would be that there is no such thing as to much excursing. All of these objections were found wrong because I had specific examples of what made their statements wrong and statistics to prove it was the complete opposite. The benefits if medical and food industries inform women of nutrition and restrict supplements and over exercising will make numerous benefits. This solution will help people become a healthier and happier person and they new skinny will be profound to be to skinny and they old skinny will be the new skinny meaning people wont go to such drastic measures and hurt themselves to just be skinny. Also the society as a whole will live longer and be stronger together and illnesses will be eliminated. This is important because we don t want our life space average to decrease over time by all the toxins we put in our body and the drastic actions we do to become skinny. I believe people "should close their eyes and see the beauty" because its what lies inside of you, not what you look like on the outside.

Works Cited

Bettelheim, Adriel. “Obesity and Health .” //CQ Researcher Online//. SAGE publications, 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. . This article “Obesity and Health” by Adriel Bettelheim is about how americans are eating their lives away and how bad for your health it is to lose weight without effort meaning diet supplements. This is credible because this webcite is a database provided by the school and run by the CQ Press.

“Common Myths about Eating Disorders.” //NEDA//. NEDA, 2008. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. . This article called Common Myths about Eating disorders is by the NEDA and is credible because its an organization that specializes in eating disorders so that you know what is wrong or write about them. This article is about the myths of the eating disorders and what are the real truths of eating disorders.

Cullen-DuPont, Kathryn. “athletics and sport, women’s participation in.” //Encyclopedia of Women’s History in America//. New York: Facts On File Inc., n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. . This is a credible source because it is coming from a database the school has provided for us which means the librarians pick and choose the best cites for credible information and has the good part of the rules of thumb we use freshman year.

Gavin, Mary L. “Compulsive Exercise.” //Kids health//. Kids Health, 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. . This article called compulsive exercise by Mary Gavin is a credible source because Mary has a masters degree in youth health. This article is about how compulsive exercise takes over your body.

“International Women’s Health Coalition.” //Encyclopedia Britannica//. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. . This article called International Women’s Health Coalition in the Encyclopedia Britannica is a credible source because its a database provided by our school and it is an encyclopedia which is what people rely on for information. This article is about how women have had a rise and fall of exercise and being healthy.

Jefferson, Roland. “Contemparary Womens health: Healthier than ever before.” //Article snatch//. LLC, 2005. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. . this article called Contemporary Women’s health: Healthier than Ever Before by Roland Jefferson is a credible source because the author has made many books for women being healthier than ever and he majored in health. This article is about how women are just now realizing the opportunities to get healthy

Orr, Anissa. “Obsession with exercize can become a disorder.” //BCM//. Baylor College of Medicine, Aug. 2005. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. . This article called Obsession with exercise can become a disorder by Anissa Orr is a credible source because this information comes from the College of medicine from Baylor College. This article is about how exercise can become a disorder and what the risks are.

Prah, Pamela M. “Eating Disorders.” //CQ Researcher Online//. SAGE Publications, 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2012. This article from CQ Researcher “Eating Disorders” is about how the different eating disorders can affect our body and all the negative things it does to us. This is a credible source that is proved by our school to use as a database and it is sponsered by CQ Press.

Sorgen, Carol. “His and Hers Fitness.” //WEB MD better information. better health//. WEB MD, 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. . This article called his and her fitness by Carol Sorgen is a credible source because it has an author that informs people on how their exercise depends between men and women also he is a motivational speaker for health benefits. This article is about the differences between men and women’s exercise.

“Title IX of the Higher Education Act (1972).” //ABC-CLIO//. American Government, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2012. . This is a credible source because this site is a document from the American Government published by our Government for our country. This document was created for the people so that is why it is credible and it was passed by congress.

Trebilcock, Bob. “IF YOUR DIET PILLS WORK...its bad for you.” //EBSCO host//. Rodale Inc., Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Mar. 2012. . This article “IF YOUR DIET PILLS WORK...its bad for you” by Bob Trebilcock is baout how the affects of diet pills will hurt you and this is credible because its a database provided by the school and it is published for kids at our school because the librarians bought it for us to use.

Wanjek, Christopher. “Dietary Supplements: Too Much of a Good Thing?” //Live Science//. Techmedianetwork, 12 Sept. 2006. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. . This article called Dietary Supplements: Too Much of a Good Thing? by Christopher Wanjek is a credible source because its author has studies health in women before and they are a motivational speaker. This article is about if diet supplements are good or bad for you.