Evaluation of the article „XXXL – Why are we so fat?”

This article was written in 2009 by Elizabeth Kolbert, who has been on the field of journalism since the late 1980s. She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1999 and this article about obesity was published in the magazine’s online platform. She covers this topic expansively supporting with ideas mainly from books dealing with obesity, but also mentioning researches and studies on being overweight. This piece of writing investigates the problems of being obese narrowed down the United States, however, comments on some European country’s status on this issue.

Although, it is an article written many years ago it is still – if not more – relevant today. This era of the 21^st century is when obesity is completely accepted and even promoted. Kolbert examines the fact that people in the United States are gaining more weight every year and she is searching for the answer of its cause. What this article also draws attention to is that with being overweight people are taking the risks of having diseases caused by the excess fat not only on their body but in their bloodstream as well.

To find the answer for the question of obesity, many aspects are need to be examined – for example, the way people lived since they are on this planet in contrast with our eating habits today. This article also points up the role of economy in the way we eat, also calls attention to the fact that today food has become a form of drug – there are people who are obsessed with eating like others are with heroin. Like in the case of prohibiting drugs, politics is also involved in regulating the consumption of “fat-foods”. These are just a few key issues that Kolbert writes about but there are a couple more throughout the article which are all supported with scientific researches by people who are in the field of health and nutrition. The only weak point of reasoning here is the example of animal testing – humans, even though there are similarities in our body system with certain animals’, cannot be compared to them.

The language of the article is easily understandable, there are mostly direct and short sentences, still it is effective. It is absolutely clear that the author did her research in this topic extensively and carefully paying attention to the details. Also, as in many other articles the facts about the eating habits of our ancestors are only roughly mentioned, here it is also elaborated deliberatively, which is a very good point as our ancestors in Palaeolithic period only lived for 30 or less years. Considering all the information this article offers, it is a quite descripting and more importantly, enlightening piece of writing.

source: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/07/20/xxxl