It might be a stretch to refer to the issue with obesity in the United States as an epidemic, as this term suggests suggests something contagious and uncontainable, but perhaps using language this strong is the only way to grab Americans’ attention. As I talked about in my paper dealing with the documentary Super Size Me, Americans have become somewhat immune to information presented in normal fashion, and thus a more and more radical way of doing so has become necessary. This is why I feel the amount of criticism MeMe Roth receives from certain groups is undeserved; she is simply seeking to open peoples’ eyes to a serious issue that is being seemingly ignored by the majority of Americans. She relies heaviest on causal arguments to communicate her point, as is the nature of this subject (Chapter 10 of Everything’s an Argument, which deals directly with causal arguments, has a segment on this exact issue). MeMe seeks to point out the many causes of the single effect–a majority of Americans are overweight, a large number are obese and the percentage is increasing every year. It is a complex argument by the fact that it is extremely difficult to determine all the causes of obesity. There are known factors such as fat and calorie intake, but one also has to take into account more complicated possible factors such as parenting, friends, exercise, etc. In all the interviews I have watched with MeMe she presents many of the possible causes of growing obesity, and then supports them with statistical evidence in a clear and eloquent manner. Obviously many of the causes can be debated, such as overweight parents producing overweight children, but always makes sure to provide some persuasive backing for her causal arguments. What is truly disturbing are not all the numbers she provides, but the number of people who blatantly refuse to even acknowledge at them. Looking at the youtube.com comments about her interviews truly discloses the amount of Americans in denial. It is the people who fire back offensive comments without any real backing, not MeMe. Yes, she can come across as harsh and rather unrelenting, but this should not detract from most of her valid arguments. Many Americans need to drop their defensive stances and realize that their health is in jeopardy.
