Ross 1 Alexis Ross Ms.

Gillhespy ENC 1102 20 April 2013 Childhood Obesity We see obesity everywhere, in the grocery stores, the malls, and maybe even in our own home. There are many ways to prevent childhood obesity before children are even born, Whats good for a pregnant mother is good for her child (Cerretani 9). Mothers who eat healthy are starting off on the right foot. There are so many unknown factors that can cause childhood obesity such as, children who were born cesarean section are more likely to be obese than children born naturally. Jessica Cerretanis article in the Harvard Gazette, talks about childhood obesity to emphasize the importance of good health early on in life. Targeting Childhood Obesity Early uses ethos and logos to effectively argue how you can prevent childhood obesity before its too late. Jessica Cerretanis article Targeting Childhood Obesity Early, which was published in the Harvard Gazette uses ethos as a writer and Harvard medical student to effectively argue her point. Since Cerretani is from Harvard this makes her article more credible, she is convincing through her character as a medical student, and she considers her audience. The author uses statistics to prove that she has done her research and knows what shes writing about. Cerretani provides a photograph of an overweight child on a treadmill, in the caption she states, Its well established that more than half of obese children are overweight by age two (Cerretani). The author uses her own research as a primary source to write her article instead of using quotes and

Ross 2 examples from others work. She also uses studies that have been done at her school, Harvard, to help support her argument. The author uses logic to argue that childhood obesity is a problem and can be prevented. Cerretani notes how important it is to prevent obesity, once your child is overweight, it is much harder to deal with, opposed to preventing it beforehand. Cerretani writes, Studies suggest that children who are breast-fed have a lower risk of obesity (Cerretani 11). The author proves that before the children start eating solid food, it is still important to regulate how much they are eating. Even the age the parent introduces their children to solid food is a factor of obesity. Cerretani as a Harvard medical student uses logical facts effectively arguing that childhood obesity can have a lot to do with the mothers diet during pregnancy and also the first few years of the babys life. Cerretanis article emphasizes the importance of prevention, and she quotes a researcher, Matthew Gillman. Gillman says, Its becoming obvious that early prevention is a big part of the answer to childhood obesity (Cerretani 13). Even how the baby was born can affect your childs weight, there so many things that you can do to prevent childhood obesity before it is too late.

Works Cited

Ross 3 Cerretani, Jessica. Targeting Childhood Obesity Early. Harvard.edu. Harvard Medical School Communications, 18 Sept. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.