Ambers persuasive speech
Channel: Amber Maz
Date: 2016-03-16

Title: Reversing The Role
Topic: The effect of the environment on obesity in adults. 
Purpose: To persuade my audience that obesity in American adults is affect by environmental factors. 
Thesis: Although our environment plays a negative role in promoting obesity in America by profit-driven food industries, lack of exercise and other daily aspects of life, there are steps that can be taken to reverse this and promote a healthier environment. 
I. Food industries thrive on making a profit instead of caring about offering the healthiest options. 
A. The locations of certain restaurants are strategically placed to make it convenient to consumer their less healthy options, which can significantly increase the risk of obesity. (Currie, DellaVigna, & Morettie, 2016)
B. Advertising and food promotions are plastered all around encouraging American to choose unhealthy food options. 
C. The price of eating a value meal at any fast food restaurant is much less expensive than making a healthy meal for the whole family. (Mercola, 2013) 
D. Portion sizes have drastically increased within the past decade causing many people to eat more food. (Nestle, 2013)
II. The environment does not promote exercise. 
A. Transportation has become centered on being convenient for people and less centered around providing exercise. (Crosse, 2009)
B. With an increasing amount of unsafe neighborhoods, there is a lack of safe places to exercise. 
C. With the rise of new technology, there is an increase in television viewing. 
III. There are a significant amount of minor factors that can contribute to obesity depending on the individual’s situation. 
A. When sleep is deprived from a person, obesity can quickly follow. (Calvin et al, 2013)
B. Drugs are heavily filtered through the environment both legally in medicices and illegally but both can cause rapid weight gain. 
C. Stress can trigger change in one’s eating pattern inevitably making them consume more calories then needed. (Sinha, 2013) 
IV. Even though the negative influence of the environment can promote obesity, these certain aspects ought to be included in one’s life to reverse the negative influence. 
A. Neighborhood gardening can help to alter the obesity epidemic by producing healthy food choices at a lower cost while lowering BMI and promoting a healthy lifestyle. (Zick et al, 2013) 
B. Creating health programs in communities and work places can create a positive appeal to staying active.
C. Being aware of the money saving advantages of staying active, as well as the new technology associated with exercise. 
In conclusion, if Americans want to eradicate the obesity epidemic they need to start by acknowledging that convenience and money savers in the environment are not healthy options, whether in food or exercise. Technology and advertisements are two means through which obesity can flourish. Advertisements try and sell their product at any cost they can. This means that salesmen over look the unhealthy ingredients in their products and simply go for the money gain. Technology encourages people to choose tasks requiring less effort instead of options promoting exercise.  Regardless of the environment being a strong contributor to obesity with fast food restaurants, lack of exercise, and other daily activities, there are options that should be chosen that can help undo the obesity epidemic and promote a healthy lifestyle. Technology has become a great contributor to promoting an active life style. With so many tools that can track one’s fitness progress like the fitbit or heart rate monitors, obesity can be conquered when people begin to realize all the fitness technology that is available to them. When an individual takes time out of his day to slow down and appreciate the benefits that healthy foods can provide for his body, a revolution can occur. Getting more people involved with such a revolution can spark a healthy environment where people no longer go for the cheap and easy, but for the nutritious and meaningful. 
References
Calvin et al. (2013). Effects of Experimental Sleep Restriction on Caloric Intake. Chest Journal, 144 (1), 79-86.
Currie et al. (2016). Do Fast Food Restaurants Contribute to Obesity? The National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from http://nber.org.
Crosse, G. (2009). Can obesity be bad for the environment? Our Future Planet. Retrieved from http://www.ourfutureplanet.org/obesity. 
Mercola, J. (2013). Fast Foods, Fat Profits. Mercola. Retrieved from http://www.mercola.com/fast-foods.
Nestle, M. (2013). Chapter one: Undermining Dietary Advice. Food Politics (pp.6). Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. 
Sinha, R. (2013). Stress as a common risk factor for obesity. Biological Psychiatry, 73(9), 827-835. 
Zick et al. (2013). Harvesting more than vegetable. AJPH, 103(6), 1110-1115.