Food Education: A Weapon Against Obesity and Poor Nutrition

The Importance of Food Education in Relation to Obesity and Poor Nutrition
Summary
While the public fears murder or natural disasters, Jaime Oliver highlights the real American killer: heart disease, in his TED Talk presentation. He explains that he is not a doctor; rather he is a chef and activist for a healthier society. For the last seven years, he has worked to bring awareness to the issue of poor diets in America. Oliver says that people are living in a society in which they are accustomed to having fast foods and eating without the knowledge of what is being put into their bodies. He explains that two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. The screen shows a statistic about the most popular killers of American people. While homicide,

Beginning with the strengths, one of the best things Jaime Oliver did was make the presentation relatable. When the presentation began, Oliver asked the audience a question. By doing this, he has already involved the audience by making the topic he is talking about relatable. Another way he made the talk relatable was by showing the audience examples of families and children. The audience revealed that most of them had children or young family members. He then follows up by telling the audience that two thirds are them are statistically overweight or obese. I believe this tactic was helpful to capture the audience’s attention in that they can imagine themselves in the presentation he was giving. The talk also seemed well researched as Oliver was able to provide statistics for many of the points he was making. The statistic shown on the screen was referenced from a reputable source (National Vital Statistics Report), although he does not mention sources from the statistics he presents orally. Next, Jamie Oliver kept the language and context of his presentation simple, easy to understand, and concise. There was no jargon or complex terminology which could have confused the audience. The most complex word mentioned was “labelling” but even then, Oliver followed up with an explanation for what it meant. Another strength to the talk was the clarity and purity of the information. Every sentence had purpose and was well thought out. There were not moments where the information presented was unnecessary or unneeded. It seemed like the pace and timing of his examples was well thought out to ensure the information the audience was receiving was taken in and processed. He made sure to explain every example he provided to his audience clearly. The last strength Oliver included was that during the presentation he made sure to emphasize his main point by including it between points and restating it.