In the process of creating change the initial phase is exploration.  The onset of this to an individual or group trying to create change is unique to each case, but initiation, regardless of the group always starts with exploration if the group.  The intention behind this exploration of childhood obesity in current society is rooted in that belief.  The uptake, processing, and analysis of multiple sources using rhetorical terminology as the basis, has been done with the intentions of providing enlightenment to the audience.

If an individual goes into his or her computer and types the words "childhood obesity" into a search engine, that person will be bombarded with millions of links related to the topic.  Clicking on one of the first links listed in 'Google' I found an article titled "Child Obesity Statistics & Teenage Obesity Statistics: 1963 to Present" located on bariatric-surgery-source.com.  At the top of the page there is a short summary of the statistics later shown explaining that childhood obesity has increased drastically in approximately half a century.  The articles main point is stated near the top saying, "Between then and now, the rate of obese children and teens has gone from about 4.5% (1 in 22) to almost 17% (1 in 6)" (bariatric surgery source).  This page, due to its likely paid location, probably in its lifespan has had tens of thousands of views.  The problem with this source is that it uses its astounding statistics and brief summary of to advertise for a company.  The site even has a link to finding local weight loss surgeons. This page is a good example of an article of conjecture due to its presentation of facts and statistics, but it severely lacks genuine credibility based on its listed advertisements.  The lacking of a listed author and presentation of advertising prevents this page from being anything but a brief presentation of facts.  Although this page lacks ethos, it does bring light to some unsettling facts that may eventually help this problem.

Another great way of reaching an idea to a large mass of people is through another common advertising scheme, that scheme being commercials.  An Australian movement coined 'break the habit' aired a commercial produced by Henry Motteram in the early two thousands, showing a mother preparing to give her son a dose of a harmful drug.  The commercials mood is quite creepy yet enticing, due to its background music and lightly lit basement setting.  Thankfully the commercial ends with the mother giving the son a large burger rather than the drugs.  It ends with a short message saying, "you wouldn't inject your children with junk, so why are you feeding it to them? (Henry Motteram).  This advertisement is another rhetorical example of conjuncture as well as definition.  Not only is the problem introduced, a possible reason for the problem is also shown.  The advertisement once again lacks a lot of creditability due to its nature of being an advertisement, but it makes people aware using pathos in a powerful way.  The director grabs hold of his audience by presenting an absurd scene of a mother about to adhere something to her child that would surely harm them.  At that point the audience is most likely aggravated at this notion, and is ultimately left with the parallel of the harmful drugs to junk food.

Another page near the top of the 'Google' search reveals some alarming numbers along with unsettling statistics.  Located on 'Harvard's school of public health educational website is an article titled 'Too Many Kids Are Too Heavy, Too Young'.  The article starts off by introducing the topic of the childhood obesity epidemic as a whole and then later gets into specifics by breaking the topic off into categories and discussing each of them.  This page is a good presentation of the quality rhetorical situation.  Not only does the page present facts, but also it speaks to the seriousness of them by interpreting them with a serious and urgent tone.  The author is unlisted but say at the end of the article, "Even among the youngest of children, it's clear that obesity rates are rising across the globe. Equally clear is that it's very, very hard for anyone who becomes overweight to lose weight, at any age. Preventing obesity in a child's earliest years (and even before birth, by healthy habits during pregnancy) confers a lifetime of health benefits. And it's the most promising path for turning around the global epidemic" (HSPH).
