Weight Problems Regerian
Professor Markus Zindelo
English 1213-048
May 17 2013
Weight Problems In society today, childhood obesity is becoming a growing and alarming concern. This trend is reflected in the poem “Fat Children,” by Natalie Day. This is a poem about how hard a mother found it to stop feeding the hungry mouths of her children. A thoughtful analysis of this poem reveals a theme about unethically advocating being overweight. This is easily discernible in the sentence, “Even when they smelled of vomit / and diarrhea, I kept feeding them” (Day lines 11-12). Reading on, this theme develops even further in the sentence, “I kept baking cakes and frying sausages, / even when repulsed” (Day 12-13). While this is a very widely known subject, unbeknownst to some is that this very topic is being frantically debated as applicable to the modern automobile. On one side of the argument, there are those who say the modern automobile should be a strictly economic and lightweight machine. On the other side are those who say the modern automobile should not be a strictly economic and lightweight machine. However, despite each side’s argument, a compromise must commence for the sake of all automotive consumers. Those who claim the modern automobile should be a strictly economic and lightweight machine exclaim so primarily due to the excessive costs involved with moving the extra weight. Number one of all is the increased fuel consumption from carrying extra weight. This can result in a degradation of up to around seven percent in fuel economy per ten percent increase of vehicle mass (Bjelkengren 81). Additionally, this effect is amplified depending on the aggressiveness of a person’s driving style (“Gas Mileage”). This argument is also extended to the extra wear and tear of parts on the vehicle. The most notable of these parts are the tires and brakes. The more a vehicle weighs, the more debris wears away from the tires and brakes (“Environmental”). It can cost several hundred dollars to
English 1213-048
May 17 2013
Weight Problems In society today, childhood obesity is becoming a growing and alarming concern. This trend is reflected in the poem “Fat Children,” by Natalie Day. This is a poem about how hard a mother found it to stop feeding the hungry mouths of her children. A thoughtful analysis of this poem reveals a theme about unethically advocating being overweight. This is easily discernible in the sentence, “Even when they smelled of vomit / and diarrhea, I kept feeding them” (Day lines 11-12). Reading on, this theme develops even further in the sentence, “I kept baking cakes and frying sausages, / even when repulsed” (Day 12-13). While this is a very widely known subject, unbeknownst to some is that this very topic is being frantically debated as applicable to the modern automobile. On one side of the argument, there are those who say the modern automobile should be a strictly economic and lightweight machine. On the other side are those who say the modern automobile should not be a strictly economic and lightweight machine. However, despite each side’s argument, a compromise must commence for the sake of all automotive consumers. Those who claim the modern automobile should be a strictly economic and lightweight machine exclaim so primarily due to the excessive costs involved with moving the extra weight. Number one of all is the increased fuel consumption from carrying extra weight. This can result in a degradation of up to around seven percent in fuel economy per ten percent increase of vehicle mass (Bjelkengren 81). Additionally, this effect is amplified depending on the aggressiveness of a person’s driving style (“Gas Mileage”). This argument is also extended to the extra wear and tear of parts on the vehicle. The most notable of these parts are the tires and brakes. The more a vehicle weighs, the more debris wears away from the tires and brakes (“Environmental”). It can cost several hundred dollars to
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