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 their 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 2000s, 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 such as age group or gender, and then 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 Harvard School of Public Health within this writes their collective opinion that, "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).

A good example of how established credibility can enhance an author's opinion on an exigency is Subhranshu Kar's health publication titled Childhood obesity-an insight into preventive strategies.  Contextually the article follows the order of introducing the topic, defining the problem, and lastly Kar asserts his opinions and propositions relating to the matter.  Right below his name, just below the heading of the article that was originally published in the "Avicenna Journal of Medicine" is the assertion of Dr. Subhranshu Kar's position within the "United Arab Emirates Department of Pediatrics" (Kar 88).  If this article were written by an individual without the same qualifications and standings that Dr. Kar has, then a good portion of its validity would be lost.  It represents an obvious truth, but nevertheless should be considered as reason to use outside sources when attempting to validate one's remarks in writing.

In exploring many sources, another trend that is worth noting, is the necessity for an author to be able to organize their writing into a logical progression that best conveys their message.  A good example of a well-organized writing is Dr. Thomas Farley's essay titled Preventing Childhood Obesity: What Are We Doing Right?  Within this essay Farley speaks specifically about a case report on childhood obesity in New York City.  He first introduces his topic, and in the closing of his introduction he inserts his opinion that this case revealing a slight decrease in the prevalence of childhood obesity in New York City is in his opinion mostly the result from changes in the home environment from increased media exploitation of the matter (Farley 1579).  Inserting his thesis at the beginning of the article allows the reader to progress through the reader already knowing his ultimate stance on the matter, which is a good strategy for an author to use in attempting to convey a message that could elsewise be lost to interpretation.

Another point can be made bouncing off the idea from above, and that is in failing to do the prior, the message the writer is trying to convey to the reader can be lost.  This especially holds true in scenarios where the subject matter is one of science, or basically matters that require specialized training by the author.  An Easy example of what can happen when the author fails to plainly assert explanations of terms of which most readers outside of the field will not have prior knowledge of is demonstrated by my personal reading of Are field-based exergames useful in preventing childhood obesity? A systematic review, written by Gao, Z.  Disregarding the fact that the author only listed the first letter of his first name making it difficult to know who exactly he is, the bigger problem at stake in the writing is the failure to define the main term the article is about, which just so happens to not be an actually word.  Throughout the writing Goa explains the importance of the continued implementing of "exergames" into children's options as ways to engage in physical activity.  Goa explains that the current failure of exergames promotion failing to increase physical activity levels in children has resulted from incorrect implementation, and that the effort should continue (Goa).  Not only does the argument fail to logically connect the dots, throughout the paper the reader is left to their own wits to decide what exactly an "exergame" is.  Although the name itself most likely infers itself as a shortened way of saying exercise games, that connection should be plainly stated by the author and not left up to inference if the author wants to ensure a consistent message to the reader.

Another interesting article I came across in exploring possible sources relating to childhood obesity was titled, Accelerating Efforts To Prevent Childhood Obesity: Spreading, Scaling, And Sustaining Healthy Eating And Physical Activity, written by lead author Debbie Chang.  Within the article, herself and her team lay out their opinion on how to expedite the process of getting society actively involved in the fight for reducing childhood obesity.  Upon reading I feel as they of the many articles I had read, this one did the best job in conveying an idea of how to create change.  Interestingly so, the authors did not assert strong opinions of proposed policies, essentially they were able to inspire through explaining.  What it meant by that is the idea that even when writing an essay that is does not directly insert one's plan of action regarding something, their ideas and opinions can still bring about a response to the audience.  For this case, in writing about spreading, sustaining, and scaling the current efforts to stop childhood obesity (Chang) the general descriptions of quality become obvious assertions of the authors concerns and desire for change in that subject matter.

Before concluding I would also like to note one more way of conveying one's stance on a topic through writing an article of policy.  The extent to which one proposes their argument for an idea can vary greatly from being broad to honing in a small technical point within a greater problem.  An example of this is found in an essay by Mark Bittman titled Bad Food? Tax It, which was reprinted in the fifth edition of The Carolina Reader, edited by Lee Bauknight and Stephanie Boone-Mosher.  In the text, Bittman argues that a good way to reduce the current high numbers of obese individuals within the United States is to place a tax on unhealthy food.  He goes on by hypothetically explaining how the situation might play out, and tries to back his claims by sourcing similar existing taxes and their documented affects (Bittman 180).  Though his proposed scenario by the end seems more like a presentation of a utopian society, it still is successful in proposing a reasonable policy that could result in improvements in the overall health of the members of society.  Saving this source till the end was intentionally done due to finding myself in similar shoes as Bittman.  In proposing his policy, Bittman confidently and boldly makes claims that may be laughed at, but bring to light the idea that to fix the current health trends, something drastic is going to have to happen.  I disagree with a good many of Bittman's points, but agree with the essence noted that something drastic is going to have to happen if the United States wants actual change in this trend.  I believe he is right, and if I so decide to write my own policy on fixing childhood obesity, I will intend to relay the necessity of drastic change to my prognosis for reducing childhood obesity within the country.
