Diet Pills. to have a perfect body. The ad seems ironic in a place of obvious over- consumption of

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1 O Mara- 1 Morgan O Mara 30 November 2011 Diet Pills I am flooded with scents of popcorn, roasted almonds, fried food, and coffee, as New York lights approach. People are everywhere, flocking to restaurants and food venders. Ordinary people rush pass, carrying packages, bags, elephant ears, and New York hot dogs. Looking beyond the people, it is hard to ignore the posters and advertisements hanging from every open space. A moving screen above Times Square shows a Victoria Secret Ad. The ad shows a young woman wearing nothing more than very small lingerie on a tiny frame. The screen scrolls to another ad, this one is for a resort in the Bahamas; two very tan, somewhat boney but beautiful, girls run through the waves, representing a great time to be had. If one is observant, they can see an ad regarding diet pills, just behind the average woman eating an Auntie Anne s salty pretzel. The sign claims Lose 9 pounds in 14 days! The ad defines our culture s acceptable appearance criteria and promotes the desire to have a perfect body. The ad seems ironic in a place of obvious over- consumption of unhealthy food. People in today s society are blessed with so many options of delicious foods, however, to be considered pretty and worthy, one cannot overindulge in these foods. In order to be considered beautiful, one must be stick thin. It appears, that women and men would much rather prefer the easier route in the battle between being thin and enjoying tasty foods. Since no one wants to be considered obese, a recent diet fad has arisen, diet pills. The pills were created to help the internal battle with obesity. Diet pills have brought about much debate. The main question is, Can diet pills work effectively, and are they safe?

2 O Mara- 2 Depending on their mode of action, modern diet pills work by suppressing appetite, accelerating the body's metabolism, and interfering with the absorption of certain nutrients in consumed food. Many diet pills prevent the absorption of fat into the body. If the patient habitually consumes foods with excessive fat levels, such diet pills are certainly useful (Diet Pills Buzzle.com). Why would someone want to use a diet pill? Some people may diet because they think they are supposed to look a certain way. Actors and actresses are thin, and most fashions are shown off by very thin models. But this look is unrealistic for most people not to mention physically damaging to the models and stars who struggle to maintain it (The Deal with Diets). Newspapers, magazines and advertisements bombard people with images of the ideal human. In order to be ideal one must not only be thin, they must also enjoy interaction with friends and family, indulge in sweets and desserts and always appear in control. This criterion is impossible to meet. It is not only affecting women it is also affecting young girls. By the time they [girls] turn 12 or 13, most teen girls start to go through body changes that are natural and necessary: Their hips broaden, their breasts develop, and suddenly the way they look may not match girls on TV or in magazine ads (The Deal With Diets). It is not realistic or obtainable, yet people still pursue this lifestyle. With this high- pressure, comes insecurities and a desire to be at a higher standard. These desires cause women and girls of all ages to take desperate measures of becoming thin. Instead of putting the time and effort into dieting and exercising, people would rather take a small pill to lose weight, while still enjoying delicacies like eating out with friends. The main purpose of diet pills is to lose weight more quickly and efficiently.

3 O Mara- 3 A sensible diet is time consuming and needs to be maintained in order to lose weight. Using weight loss pills can help you lose a greater amount of weight than just dieting. However, they [diet pills] work by short- circuiting the body's tendency to store fat in its tissues. This is an important metabolic function that can be disrupted safely only for limited periods. Therefore, using diet pills is not a long- term weight loss option. One must also not forget that appetite is a necessary reflex that nature has provided to ensure our survival (Diet Pills). There are a lot of dangers associated with slimming pills due to the elements that make up the pills. Some pills are known to contain ingredients that have been proven to have serious side effects. A common component in many diet pills is Ephedra and Kava kava, which have been proven to cause harm to the body if taken for a long period of time. Some of the negative effects that can result from using ephedra are heightened blood pressure, insomnia and nausea. Kava kava, which is often used in alternative health weight loss supplements, is also known to cause kidney damage sustained through the prolonged use of medication that contains it. It has been banned in Canada as well as some other countries (Van Rooyen, Juliette). The pressure that society puts on people to be able to achieve unobtainable goals makes a person more likely to use a harming substance in order to be considered accepted. The strongest pillars of an individual, group, or society are its values and morals. Personal values and society s values are the reflection of thoughts and one s mind. A new cultural values survey of 2,000 American adults, given by the Culture and Media Institute, finds that 74 percent of all Americans believe that our nation is in a moral decline. Interestingly enough, 64 percent of those surveyed felt that the news and entertainment media are a major influence in that decline. (Harrell, Lonnette) Who is to blame for this

4 O Mara- 4 morality decline? It is clear that newspapers, magazines, and advertisements are the main cause for spreading superficial values. In today s society the common values are; sex, money, and beauty. People are now worrying about appearance and monetary achievement over personal ties. This need to be the perfect person that advertisements praise causes people to make changes that they normally wouldn t. A person who uses diet pills might know they are being unrealistic, even unhealthy, but still the hunger to be skinny and accepted is stronger than the hunger for healthy nourishment. I must have fifteen bottles of various pills that are for dieting. I am always searching for that one pill that will kill my appetite and make me skinny again! (Love My Diet Pills). As a whole, people are optimistic. A diet pill is the most optimistic tool the weight loss industry has yet to come up with. No scientific research exists to support the efficacy of herbal diet pills in curbing appetite and reducing weight by other means. However, they may have a placebo effect. This means that the patient's belief in the medicine's power is sufficient to bring desirable results (Diet Pills). The theory of diet pills is so positive it causes many to overlook the impracticalities of the pills. The rise in obesity can be seen everywhere. The media constantly reports about obesity as a disease. Obese people are often looked down upon: Obesity is a serious health problem in the United States. The number of people suffering from obesity is higher now than it ever has been in the past. Obesity is something that needs to be taken seriously. We need to figure out how to help obese people get rid of the excess weight or else they can have serious health risks that affect them and society as a whole While people

5 O Mara- 5 who suffer from obesity want to change their life, they often wait for someone to tell them what to do and to help them get healthy. Obesity is not an excuse to avoid responsibility for your own life (Millington, Doug) The article is a clear example of how society views obese people as unhealthy and irresponsible, while promoting fit- in shape people. This article is very degrading. Society and advertising companies have made having fat cells on one s body a shameful possession. Advertisements have made people value others opinions over their own safety. This causes people to turn to dangerous and drastic measures such as diet pills. Diet pills do not just make physical changes; they also make mental changes, to one s self- esteem and self- concept. If you are suffering from obesity you have to realize that you are prone to many diseases like gallstones, acne, increased sweating, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and heart problems, etc. So losing weight is necessary for the maintenance of your good looks along with your body protection from innumerable diseases (Weight Loss Pills Reviews). People consider the negatives of being obese greater than the risks of taking diet pills. People today have been severely damaged by technology and the media. Technology has greatly warped our way of thinking. Media has changed our values and morals. The days of Leave it to Beaver are long gone, replaced with the selfish need to fit in. Using diet pills is completely up to the user. However, how one is influenced is the main point of concern. Diet pills have been proven unsafe and even banned in some countries. Yet the media and companies encourage the use of these dangerous substances, with no apprehension of who they are affecting. It is a choice made from disparity and insecurity. It is based on a message forced upon the world by all major companies trying to gain the

6 O Mara- 6 most monetary achievement. The use of diet pills is completely in the users discretion. However, the decision to take diet pills is strongly influenced and encouraged by media and advertising. Based on today s values, can we trust the media to look out for the individual?

7 O Mara- 7 Works Cited "Diet Pills Buzzle.com." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent Life on the Web. Web. 05 Dec < pills/>. "Weight Loss Pills Reviews." Weight Loss Pills Reviews - APO Health. Web. 30 Nov < Harrell, Lonnette. "Values and Morals in American Society: The 1950s Vs. Today." Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. Web. 04 Oct < an_society.html>. "Love My Diet Pills: I Am Addicted to Diet Pills Story & Experience." Experience Project - Personal Stories about Any Life Experience. Web. 04 Oct < Addicted- To- Diet- Pills/32876>. Millington, Doug. "Obesity and Its Effect on Society Health." FitnessWeightLossCenter - Your Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle. Web. 04 Oct < and- its- effect- on- society/>. "The Deal With Diets." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Nemours. Web. 05 Dec < Van Rooyen, Juliette. "Misconceptions About Slimming Pills." Ezine Articles. Web. 3 Oct < About- Slimming- Pills&id=448582>.

8 O Mara- 8 Morgan O Mara WRA Professor Sara McKinnon 5 December 2011 Revising Literacies Upon learning we had to revise our paper, I was kind of nervous. I didn t know which paper to revise or what to revise. I decided to edit my Cultural Artifact Analysis paper, because it was my favorite to write and devise. I also decided on this paper because it was my lowest grade in the class, so I knew it had the most room for improvement. After deciding which paper I wanted to change, I began to think of ideas in which to change the message I was trying to convey. My paper was based on diet pills, their image, and their purpose. After reading it through, I knew I needed to add more specific information and facts from research. What I wanted readers to take from my paper was how the media makes women feel self conscious and not good enough. This leads many people, primarily women, to take unrealistic measures to stay fit and in- shape. While my opinion regarding diet pills is somewhat obvious throughout this paper, I added results of others research to strengthen the point being made. After writing a paper, I usually love everything about it. So when I learned that we had to revise and change up one of the papers we already wrote, I thought there would be nothing I would want to change. Once I read through my paper I immediately saw areas in need of improvement. I made it easier to read and understand. I enjoyed revising the paper because it made me realize that my writing style has improved. It has become more factual

9 O Mara- 9 and more informative. Also, I have learned how to make papers more entertaining by including what I learned in the remix project. The original purpose of my Cultural Analysis paper was to show the strain and stress women go through to maintain their weight. I researched whether diet pills work, and how many people buy into the idea of losing weight from a pill. After revising my writing, I transformed it to be a lot easier to understand the point that I was trying to convey. In addition to using my own words to express my message, I included factual knowledge regarding women s decision to take diet pills and the media s influence on their decisions. I found this project to be a very fun and creative way to realize how much and how far I have come as a writer this semester. Through this project I was trying to demonstrate that I could take a mediocre paper and make it better. While showing my improved writing style I also wanted to emphasize that diet pills are considered dangerous. I also wanted to show how advertisements degrading women and obese people are just as dangerous. Through quotes from real online articles and journals, I was able to explain the hazards that come with taking diet pills. What I have learned in WRA 140 has improved my writing skills and was extremely helpful in making these revisions to my original draft.