Sunday, January 26, 2020

A Short Biography Of Dr Jim Cummins English Language Essay

A Short Biography Of Dr Jim Cummins English Language Essay This paper will give a short biography of Dr. Jim Cummins, a well-known second language educator and a major contributor to the body of research driving TESL techniques. It will cover his more significant contributions to the field of bilingual education, and it will provide a more detailed and deeper look at his theoretical contributions to TESL. Dr. Jim Cummins: An Author Study In 1970, Dr. Jim Cummins earned his first college degree, a B.A., from the University of Dublin in Psychology. He then went on to earn a doctorate in Educational Psychology in 1974 from the University of Alberta. In 1997, he was also granted an honorary doctorate from the Bank Street College of Education in New York City. Dr. Cummins is currently a professor in Ontario, Canada at the University of Toronto where he works in the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (Canadian Education Association, 2010). Dr. Cummins has an extensive list of published work relating to second language learning and literacy and is a seminar presenter. He is also known for being a prominent researcher in bilingual education as well as the effects of technology on instruction (Race, Culture, Identity, and Achievement Seminar, 2005). One of the main contributions to the TESL community which is credited to Dr. Cummins is the concept of Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP). BICS is the social aspect of language you would normally find in everyday situations like playgrounds, talking, playing sports, and the like. BICS develops more quickly than CALP, usually taking six months to two years to develop. CALP, by contrast, is harder to learn and takes longer to develop; it actually takes five to seven years to achieve proficiency. CALP is the style of language students need to succeed in academic areas and as students rise through higher and higher grade levels, the language gets harder to comprehend and context gradually reduces (Haynes, 1998). Although BICS and CALP are widely seen as established theories there have been some criticisms and contrary opinions. In a publication titled Putting Language Proficiency in its Place: Responding to Critiques of the Conversational/Academic Language Distinction, Dr. Cummins defends his position on BICS and CALP. He points out several key factors that indicate that second language academic language emerges slowly. First, in North America minority children have been given IQ tests in their secondary language after only two or three years in their new country. As a result, a higher proportion of ELL students ended up in special education services. Dr. Cummins points out that this calls the validity of the IQ test itself into question. Since the IQ test is based on the norms and experiences of the dominant culture, it would follow that the minority, or ELL, population might be at a disadvantage on this standardized test. Therefore, the test itself is probably not doing a good job of discr iminating actual special education students from normal students who lack the CALP to pass the thresholds on the standardized test. A second point by Dr. Cummins is that many ELL students are forced out of ELL services after three years. This arbitrary time limit goes against the idea that CALP takes five to seven years to develop, and what has been discovered is that many of these students who are forced out of ELL services end up experiencing academic failure. This seems to support the CALP theory. A third point he makes, answering critics, is that BICS and CALP are not meant to take into account all of the facets of sociolinguistic development; the theories are specifically meant to cover second language learners, not all language development of all learners. So the idea that BICS and CALP do not take into account all the myriad aspects of language is meaningless. A fourth point in Cummins rebuttal paper is that BICS, although basic in nature, will have some cognitive aspects; he makes the analogy of joke-telling. Telling a joke is a BICS activity, but it will have some cognitive elements. Basically his point is that if some BICS interactions have aspects of cognitive functions, then it does not negate the entire BICS/CALP theory. Furthermore, he goes on to clarify that CALP should not be seen as superior, just different. Finally, Cummins calls on the support of two fellow researchers, Biber and Corson, whose research generally supports his theory of BICS and CALP (Cummins, 1999). Cummins has produced many opinions and given much advice on the development of CALP in ELL students. One that is interesting is the idea that language is always considered to be an intervening variable rather than an isolated variable that stands on its own and causes some given outcome. Basically, language develops both in and out of school so it is not entirely under the control of the teacher. Another point Cummins makes is that reading is critical to the development of CALP; he points out that although the home life and home culture of students will, and arguably should, determine much of their language development, it is essential that they read books because this improves and embellishes their understanding of the fundamental parts of language, like syntax, which they otherwise might not encounter. Furthermore, he recommends reading a variety of text materials. The decline of reading proficiencies between fourth and sixth grades is another point Cummins has commented on; he att ributes this phenomenon to the simple fact that the reading material changes from familiar topics and text to more abstract or technical words and topics. Cooperative learning is also suggested by Cummins as a means to develop CALP because these interactive activities become more internalized. Writing is also suggested by Cummins not only as a means to develop CALP, but also as a means to expression in the ELL classroom (Grigorenko, 2005). Another large contribution that Dr. Cummins has made to the TESL academic community is the concept of Common Underlying Proficiency (CUP). CUP is a set of skills that a child learns while acquiring his or her first, or primary, language. This set of skills applies to the next language he or she learns. Thus, the CUP serves as a basis for learning any and all languages. Any growth of the CUP skill set will enhance learning in all languages. Furthermore, this explains why people find the second language, and subsequent languages, easier to learn than the first language. For this reason, mainstream teachers and ELL teachers must remember to encourage further development of the primary language as the children also learn a second language (Shoebottom, 1996). One interesting enhancement, or extrapolation, to the concept of CUP can be found in Dr. Cummins article Immersion Education for the Millenium: What We Have Learned from 30 Years of Research on Second Language Immersion. In this article he describes two principles that I understood to be related to the concept of CUP. First, he mentions the Additive Bilingual Enrichment Principle whereby bilingual students have been shown to improve their linguistic processing ability, somewhat due to the fact that the bilingual child has had more practice processing language. In answer to those who would deny students L1 development in conjunction with L2, Dr. Cummins states that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the development of additive bilingual skills entails no negative consequences for childrens academic, linguistic, or intellectual developmentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦evidence points in the direction of subtle meta-linguistic, academic and intellectual benefits for bilingual children. (Cummins, 1999). The second princip le illustrated in this article is the Linguistic Interdependence Principle which means that students will experience no loss of linguistic function in L1 as they study in L2 because the two are connected and interdependent in the learners mind (Cummins, 1999). A third main theoretical contribution made by Dr. Cummins is the concept of task difficulty. Tasks range in difficulty along one continuum from cognitively undemanding to cognitively demanding; and along another continuum from context-embedded to context-reduced (Shoebottom, 1999). This is a Cummins concept which is well-known to TESL educators whereby it becomes understood that a low-context, high-cognitive skill, such as conceptual mathematics, is much harder for a second language student to comprehend than a task or skill, like buying popcorn, which is high-context and low-cognitive in nature (Azusa Unified School District, 2007). On the topic of language as related to concepts like mathematics we may often notice that students will continue to speak in a BICS modality, even when a CALP modality would be more appropriate to the situation. Lloyd notes that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Cummins observes that students are most likely to speak with each other in peer appropriate ways regardless of their second language proficiencyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦this suggests that even when opportunities arise for students to engage in mathematical dialogues with one another, they may do so using primarily natural language or BICS and may not further develop their CALP (Lloyd, et. Al., 2005). The previous paragraphs of this paper have dealt with Dr. Cummins most popular and widely-respected theories in TESL. However, from reading and searching the internet I have found two other main themes in Dr. Cummins research that perhaps the novice TESL teacher may have missed or not experienced in the typical TESL course work. First, he seems to be driven to discuss and comment on the educational rights and socio-political atmosphere surrounding ELL populations. Second, he has done some work in educational technology that is not as pervasive in reviews of his body of work. In Dr. Cummins web publication titled The Ethics of Doublethink: Language Rights and the Bilingual Education Debate he makes several points that illuminate his core educational beliefs. First, his use of the Orwellian term doublethink points to a situation where two contradictory ideas exist in the thinkers mind at the same time. He uses the term doublethink with regards to three respected academic people whose comments helped to pass California Proposition 227. Using the term from Orwells well-known book 1984 paints a dark picture of the people in question, as if they were cold-minded bureaucrats. Proposition 227 was a step backwards for ELL opportunities in that state, and Cummins illuminates the fact that these three academics simultaneously spoke in support of Proposition 227 as well as having a record of supporting bilingual education. Cummins clarifies that bilingual education is heavily rooted in the L1 while also teaching English and was considered a positive idea, until the three researchers came out in support of Proposition 227. In his conclusion section Cummins tone is scathing and he calls into question the ethics of these three popular and respected academics. (Cummins, 1999). From the tone of his dialog in this article it becomes clear that Cummins is very passionate about the truthfulness in his TESL community, and he clearly has the students best interests in mind. He sounds like a very dedicated educator, rather than a pandering politician. Another publication by Cummins titled Rights and Responsibilities of Educators of Bilingual-Bicultural Children illuminates more clearly the beliefs held by this prominent educator. He argues that educators who deal with bilingual-bicultural students have the right and the responsibility to positively impact these childrens lives, and he goes on to illustrate the racism present in both the communities these children live in as well as the legislation that affects their educational experiences. As an example of a community turning against a minority group, he discusses a situation that got very heated in Pittsburgh. The school district, under political pressure from the dominant culture, decided to do away with a very successful bilingual program in favor of a more widely called-for, but less-effective, English immersion program. Cummins comments on how the dominant culture of the geographical region acted in a racially-charged manner to the detriment of the children in question. As a n example of legislative bias he again discusses Californias Proposition 227, of 1998, which limited severely the use of L1 in the classroom to assist with instruction. He discusses the xenophobic distortions of the media surrounding this legislative action, and the seemingly ridiculous assertions such as one year of English is adequate to get a child trained so that he can succeed in the regular classroom. After illustrating these two frightening examples of cultural bias, Cummins discusses some successful TESL programs and a concept called the Foyer model. The main aspect of the Foyer model that makes it successful is the idea that educators need to respect and tap into the primary, or former, culture of the ELL students. (Cummins, 2000). In this article we once again feel the dedication to the research, the decades of learning and the passion for TESL concepts held by Dr. Cummins. His tone in the article is frustrated and indignant at times. Clearly, he has nothing but distaste for the political situations which led to these two examples. One last contribution made by Dr. Cummins to consider in this paper is his work with technology in TESL techniques; this is perhaps a less well-known aspect of his work, and certainly it is much less pervasive on the internet. In his article titled e-Lective Language Design of a Computer-Assisted Test-Based ESL/EFL Learning System, Dr. Cummins elaborates on his use of technology to enhance ELL success. Using his theoretical system, which calls for a multimedia CD-ROM, as well as L1 to L2 dictionaries, students or teachers can import any text in electronic form and use the computer assistant program to help with comprehension. The computer program has several main features. First, it uses text in electronic form, and Cummins makes a point of saying that the name e-Lective is a reference to the term e-mail and is an appropriate name because the educator using it must realize that it is designed for use with electronic text only. Second, Cummins, in a very clever way, incorporates the root word lect into the name of the program. Lect, as he explains, forms the basis for several cognates that refer to reading. Third, the title has the word elective in it, and this implies that the ELL student will be able to m ake learning choices as learning progresses. Finally, Cummins explains that his program is different from most of the computer-assisted language learning programs because the learner is able to import the material he or she reads and works with; this is much different from the typical computer language program that has a pre-set, built-in curriculum, and the reading that can be imported is much more valid to the curriculum being taught and, perhaps, more interesting and valid for the learner. Essentially, students import and read any electronic text they want, and can pause as they read to get a definition, pronunciation, L1 equivalent of the unfamiliar L2 word, idiomatic expressions as needed, and cognates if applicable (Cummins, 1999). To conclude, this paper has reviewed in some depth the main theories of Dr. Cummins: BICS and CALP, CUP, and Task complexity with regards to level of context clues and severity of cognitive demands on the learner. Additionally, Dr. Cummins scholarly work as an advocate for equity issues, and educational morality, in TESL was examined. Finally, a description of his more-recent, and less-known, work with computer-assisted TESL education was described. Dr. Cummins has been shown to be a cornerstone of TESL research and techniques as well as a strong voice in political and academic circles who views TESL as a moral obligation of the educational establishment.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Social Science Paper

Christine Louise S. Lacanaria 2-Xavier TYPE| DEMOCRACY (CAPITLISM)| COMMUNISM| SOCIALISM| DEFINITION| an  economic system  based on the  private ownership  of  capital goods  and the  means of production, with the creation of goods and services for profit  . There are multiple variants of capitalism, including  laissez-faire,  welfare capitalism  and  state capitalism. from  Latin  communis  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ common, universal is a  revolutionary socialist  movement to create a  classless, moneyless  and  stateless  social order  structured  upon  common ownership  of the  means of production, It is where everyone is equal where as if one gets everybody must also have it| refers to an  economic system  characterised by  social ownership  of the  means of production  and co-operative management of the economy. [1]†Social ownership† may refer to  cooperative  enterprises,  common ownership,  state ownership, or citizen ownership of equity| CHARACTERISTICS| Private property-the right to own resources and bequeath property.Freedom of economic choice-work/not work, spend/not spend. Government should let markets be with a hands-off philosophy. | A theoretical economic system characterized by the collective ownership of property and by the organization of labor for the common advantage of all members. A system of government in which the state plans and controls the economy and a single, often authoritarian party holds power, claiming to make progress toward a higher social order in which all goods are equally shared by the people. | are economic systems that emphasize public ownership and heavy government influence in economic affairs.As a political system, socialism emphasizes co-operative work for the common good, a uniformed class system, and reductions of hierarchy in both economics and politics. | GOVERNMENT| The government and the leader is chosen by the people and almost everyone or majo rity of the people can vote for the leader| The party is chosen by the people, where as the party choses the leader or the president of the country. | Democratic elections don't exist and in theory all members in power are equal. The ruling party often establishes its rule by force.However, some modern socialist or democratic socialist systems, such as those in Scandinavia, have several parties and democratic elections. | EDUCATION| to decide individually how, when, what, where and with whom they learn to have an equal share in the decision-making as to how their organizations – in particular their schools – are run, and which rules and sanctions, if any, are necessary| quality of education is largely choosen by the capitalist political state, which chooses to educate us in ways that are beneficial to them.Capitalism is portrayed as the best of all possible systems, with socialist ideology barely mentioned and almost always misrepresented as the philosophy of the ill-f ated Soviet Union| those under 18 are legally considered â€Å"children†, adolescents under socialism will be taught from an early age to become active participants in the industrial government, to make informed and rational decisions and be treated with far more respect and offered far greater freedom and trust then the teens of today are, who are usually treated as little more then the property of their parents with few decision making opportunities of their own. ECONOMY|   shift decision-making power from  corporate shareholders  to a larger group of public stakeholders  that includes workers, customers, suppliers, neighbors and the broader public. No single definition or approach encompasses economic democracy, but most proponents claim that modern property relations  externalize  costs, subordinate the general well-being to private profit, and deny the polity a democratic voice in economic policy decisions| is also known as the planned economy. In a communist economy, it is fully operated by the government.There are only state owned and controlled businesses. The government answers all the fundamental economic questions. | is heavily planned, self-managed and state-directed. Rather than allowing market forces to determine where the economy should go, public officials decide which industries resources should be allocated toward. Production is both managed and controlled by the state. | EXAMPLES| Georgia, Lebanon, Israel, India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand| Nepal and Cyprus| China, Canada , Cuba, Vietnam|

Friday, January 10, 2020

Dehumanization: Marxism and Modern Era Essay

Dehumanization is the process of stripping away or denying other’s access to basic human qualities or rights. An ideal society would be free of this inequality, however, during the modern era, encouraged by capitalism and free competition, it is difficult to maintain complete equality and fairness. In fact, three books from the reading list, Marx’s Communist Manifesto, Sumner’s essay, What the Social Classes Owe to Each Other, and Primo Levi’s tale of Survival at Auschwitz, truly illustrate how difficult ideas and cultural values of the era make it to eliminate dehumanization. Although, the situations presented in each of the book are very different, they mainly deal with the loss or diminishment of four basic human qualities: the natural value in being human, the uniqueness of the individual, the freedom to act and make decisions, and the equality of status. This paper will analyze not only how these qualities were diminished in each of the cases in the m odern era but also look to see if dehumanization was resisted. Communist Manifesto The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx, attempts to explain the goals of Communism as well as the theories underlying this movement. It argues that class struggle, or the exploitation of one class by another, have been occurring for generations. Marx quotes, â€Å"The history of all hitherto existing society [has been] the history of class struggles† (79). Class relationships are defined by an era’s means of production. However, However, eventually these relationships cease to be compatible with the developing forces of production. At this point, a revolution occurs and a new class emerges as the ruling one. Specifically, the Modern industrial era is characterized by the class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. The bourgeoisie consisted of employers of laborers or the owners of the means of production. The proletariat represented the wage laborers and they were dehumanized. In fact, the bourgeoisie violated all four of the main human qualities list ed in the introduction. Firs, the fact that there was an economically based class system indicated inequality in status. Second, since the bourgeoisie class employed the proletariat thereby controlling the action and decision of the lower class. Third, the bourgeoisie in he modern era clumped the entire proletariat class together and considered them mere laborers, Fourth, Marx believed that wage laborers working with machinery dehumanized the worker. Human values were diminished since laboring class could be easily replaced by machinery in some instances for more efficiency. Any one of these violations alone can stand as mere inequality; however, when many more of these violations get stacked, inequality becomes a form of dehumanization. Therefore, as production demand increased, the exploitation by the bourgeoisie class of the proletariat class increased. Eventually, this would anger the proletariat class enough to start a revolution and overthrow the bourgeoisie. Marx wrote, â€Å"[The bourgeoisie] is unfit to rule because it is incompetent to assure an existence to its slave within his slavery, because it cannot help letting him sink into such a state, that it has to feed him, instead of being fed by him. Society can no longer live under this bourgeoisie, in other words, its existence is no longer compatible with society† (93). This uprising would be the Proletariat’s form of resistance against dehumanization. However, unlike previous revolution, where powers simply shifted from one class to another, Marx predicts that class will be eliminated altogether and a truly equal and fair state would emerge. Readers can’t help but feel skeptical while reading Marx’s theory due to the â€Å"dictators† present in current day communist countries. However, it is important to know that these current day communist countries only got influenced by Marx’s ideal but did no fully carry out his theoretical society. What the Social Classes Owe to Each Other William Graham Sumner was influenced by Social Darwinists and argued in his writing that helping the poor would only interfere with laws of nature and slow down evolutionary progression. In fact, Sumner argued that a â€Å"poor† or a â€Å"weak† person were merely lazy and they did not exist. Therefore Sumner wrote, â€Å"A maudlin impulse to prolong the lives of the unfit stands in the way of this beneficent purging of the social organism† (45). He would further defend about not giving by writing, â€Å"we all owe to each other good-will, mutual respect, and mutual guarantees of liberty and security. Beyond this nothing can be affirmed as a duty of one group to another in a free state† (49). In addition, he believed that if was unfair how â€Å"if the rich, comfortable, prosperous, virtuous, respectable, educated, and healthy cannot make everybody else as well off as themselves, they are to be brought down to the same misery as others† (62). In another words, Sumner did not think it was fair how the rich were expected to help the poor, and if not was possibly penalized. Unlike the Marx’s Manifesto, the opposing classes are not clearly defined. However, it is still assumed from Sumner’s writing that Sumner values some life over another. For example, when he writes, â€Å"society is constantly excreting its unhealthy, imbecile, slow, vacillating, faithless members to leave room for the deserving† (45). With this remark, and many others similar to it, Sumner dehumanizes people who did not succeed. While, a positive message is being sent by Sumner in a way by encouraging citizens to work hard, Sumner is inconsiderate of those who like the proletariats, have no control over their life due to greedy overbearing employers. The only option that Sumner gives to resist the dehumanization is to keep working hard and do not accept defeat. Survival at Auschwitz Many have heard the accounts of the holocaust before in history class or in other books on the subject; however Levi truly does an excellent job giving the readers detailed glimpse into what it really is like to go from being a free human being, then being stripped down to nothing. His intention for the book was not â€Å"to formulate new accusations [but] rather to furnish documentation for a quiet study of certain aspects of the human mind† (9). This book demonstrates dehumanization at its worst. It was established in the introduction that often times Men and women were treated like animals while getting dehumanized. Yet, the people at Auschwitz were actually getting treated worse than livestock. This is because with livestock at least they were somewhat cared for before they were killed, and even if they weren’t they were killed to serve a higher purpose. On the other hand, the prisoners at the concentration camps were starved, killed, and then deserted. Unlike the other two books, this book contains so much elements of dehumanization that no amount of pages would be enough to capture it all; however, it is important to draw from this book also how people have truly used every inch of their will power to try and maintain their self-value. How did the prisoners resist the urge to admit defeat and continue resist dehumanization? How did they when even â€Å"ordinary moral world† (86) like â€Å"good,† and â€Å"evil begin to get mixed up and the differences between these opposites became unclear? Levi present a man in his story, who may have been physically reduced but who is an insane man and â€Å"a survivor, the most adaptable, the human type most suited to this way of living† (97). Portrayed by this insane man, Elias is a strong message that morals and self-value can adapt and survive even in the most extreme situation. Conclusion Based on the scenarios presented by the three books, and personal understanding of dehumanization, I believe it cannot be absent in modern era society. The degree to which dehumanization can occur is extremely varied, and while we can hope and wait for it to merely pass by, it is better to act. Try to resist dehumanization as much as can, as Levi’s character Elias demonstrated, with strong will power and determination, there are so much we can achieve. Perhaps, while we may not be able to eliminate several factors of unfairness or inequality, we can still treat people with respect and at least eliminate dehumanization.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Obesity Obesity And Obesity - 1703 Words

The United States have the highest rate of people battling obesity, with childhood obesity on the rise. Just about one-third of adults in America are obese, and about 17% of children are obese. There are many health problems associated with obesity, which are preventable. America has state and local programs to prevent obesity, which Centers for Disease control and Prevention funds in all 50 states. Obesity is considered one of the highest killers since the 1980’s, with fast food shops on the rise and the healthy prices going up it’s hard to control how we eat. Obesity is a condition that involves one to have excessive body fat, which cause a greater change of health problems. To be diagnose with obesity, a doctor measures the patient’s body fat. This measurement is called Body Mass Index (BMI), which takes your height and weight in to consideration and results in the patient’s Body Mass Index number. A person with a 30 or higher BMI is considered obese. If the patient bodyweight is 20% more than recommended based on height than that patient can also categorized as obese. Obesity is a very serious condition that affects millions of people around the world. Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. Research shows that â€Å"In 2014, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these over 600 million were obese. 39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2014, and 13% were obese. 42 million children under the age of 5 were overweightShow MoreRelatedObesity : Obesity And Obesity986 Words   |  4 PagesObesity is one of the major health epidemics that human being struggle to deal with it. Obesity is a chronic disease characterized by excessively high body fat in relation to lean body mass. In the last 20 years, people started complaining that fast food is the main cause of rising obesity. However, a lot of research proves that fast food is not the source of obesity. The rising obesity problem cannot be blamed on the fast food industry; there are several other factors leads to obesity. OverRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Obesity798 Words   |  4 Pages Obesity Close to over one-third of adults living in the United States are obese (Diet and Obesity). Unfortunately, one third of children in the United States are also obese or overweight. Obesity has grown throughout the United States and has led to major health problem and can even be fatal. About 365,000 or more people die every year due to obesity. With numbers increasing obesity should be furthered examined to help prevent these conditionsRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Obesity1442 Words   |  6 Pages5/13/16 Take home Project: Obesity Obesity basically means having too much body fat. Not being overweight for your height, having too much muscle, or water in your body. What exactly is obesity? â€Å"Obesity is a condition that is associated with having an excess of body fat, defined by genetic and environmental factors that are difficult to control when dieting. Obesity is classified as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is a tool used to measure obesity. Obesity increases your risk ofRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Obesity1318 Words   |  6 PagesObesity Epidemic Due to Fast Food or Something More Obesity is rising at a rapid rate here in the United States, especially childhood obesity. The obesity epidemic is one of the country’s most serious health problems. Adult obesity rates have doubled since 1980 from 15 to 30 percent, while childhood obesity rates have more than tripled. Is there a link in obesity and fast food eating? Are fast food restaurants to blame for our nation’s obesity issues? Or are we ourselves and our lack of knowledgeRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Obesity Essay1508 Words   |  7 Pagesleads to health risks and obesity, people are still putting unhealthy food into their body daily.   The United States has the highest obesity rate in the world by 6% and the government should be helping to lower that percentage (http://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Health/Obesity).   The best for the United States to help the obesity rate is by implementing a fat tax.   A fat tax is a tax on foods that are considered unhealthy and are believed to lead people to obesity.   The main way fat taxesRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Obesity1417 Words   |  6 Pagesconcerned. Doctors often use a formula based on height and weight, called body mass index (BMI), to determine obesity. Children with a BMI over 21 is considered obese and over 18 is overweight (Arnett, J.J.2016). Adults with a BMI of 30 or more are considered obese. Severe obesity, also known as severe obesity or morbid obesity, occurs when a BMI of 40 or more is present. With morbid obesity, there may be serious health problems. If children do not have enough activities, they will not be able to burnRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Obesity1413 Words   |  6 Pagescertificates, diabetes was mentioned as a cause of death (6). The Centers for Disease Control refers to â€Å"twin epidemics of diabetes and obesity, because obesity greatly increases the risk of diabetes, and the number of Americans who are obese has been increasing rapidly† (9). A newly developed term, â€Å"diabesity,† is commonly used to represent the close relationship between obesity and diabetes (8). Type 1 diabetes usually occurs in childhood and is defined when the pancreas fails to produce a healthy amountRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Obesity892 Words   |  4 Pagesadults are considered obese in America. In recent years obesity is the health topic of choice these days because obesity in America is a growing epidemic. One out of twenty people in America have extreme obesity. According to a 2009-2010 survey conducted by the National Health and Nutrition examination this data states that about one third of children and adolescents ages six to nine are considered to be overweight or obese. Adolescent obesity has more than tripled in young adults and doubled in childrenRead MoreObesity : Obesity And The Obesity2209 Words   |  9 Pages OBESITY in America As the world is growing day by day the problem of obesity is also increasing all over the world. Since from1980 to 2014, the obesity has risen two times as compared to the previous years. The obesity is related to the how much energy is left, but the most important cause of having the obesity is â€Å"dysbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure† (Nazarii Kobyliak 1). The obesity is the excessive fat in the body and it can cause to any age group form child to the oldRead MoreObesity : Obesity And Obesity985 Words   |  4 Pages Obesity is one of the major health epidemic that human being struggle to deal with it. Obesity is a chronic disease characterized by excessively high body fat in relation to lean body mass. In the last 20 years, people started complaining that fast food is the main cause of rising obesity. However, a lot of research proves that fast food is not the source of obesity. The rising obesity problem cannot be blamed on the fast food industry ; there are several other factors leads to obesity.