Thinking Sociologically About Sources Of Obesity By Robert Peralta Summary

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Robert L. Peralta, author of "Thinking Sociologically about Sources of Obesity in the United States", includes his perspective on obesity in his article. He reveals to the readers that obesity is due to social aspects affecting weight gain; it is not solely due to genetics, as other articles state. Throughout the article, Peralta includes numerous examples and studies on different aspects of society which have an impact on rising obesity rates. As the article progresses onward, Peralta demonstrates how obesity is in fact correlated with "money, knowledge, power, prestige, and interpersonal resources" (Peralta 204). Peralta 's article effectively conveys that society is to blame for obesity by indirectly stating it and also how social aspects …show more content…

He uses a plethora of examples which have been cited, thus giving the audience the assumption that the sources are to be trusted. One case study on high school girls resulted in 90% white girls and 70% African American girls who were unsatisfied with their weight (Peralta 207). This study supports Peralta 's inference in which social aspects affect obesity; in addition to social reasons, race differences as well as other differences (gender, age, money, etc..) will be a contributing force to obesity 's rising rates. Lissner 's article provides reinforcement by stating that obesity 's rising rates are due to environmental factors ("Psychosocial..." 77). Additionally, Lissner also utilizes a number of cases which contribute to emphasized point: psychosocial aspects can lead to obesity. Conflicting to Peralta and Lissner, Loos and Bouchard 's article contradict the statements above by saying, "the susceptibility to obesity is partly determined by genetic factors"; however, it also states, "an 'obesogenic ' environment is typically necessary for its phenotypic expression", giving the impression that even though genetics are impactful, social issues or environment contribute the same level of importance ("Obesity..."

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