Debunking the Low-Fat Myth: A National Epidemic

Obesity has become a growing epidemic in the United States of America. Federal agencies, authors of diet books, and others have offered advice on how to lose weight but none seem to work since the epidemic is still on the rise. In the article “The Feds’ Fib about Low-Fat,” Michael Fumento argues that the low-fat myth government agencies have inadvertently promoted can be deceiving and not healthy for the individual. This article is a syndicated column that has appeared in newspapers around the country, therefore allowing for a diversified audience. The audience of this article includes adults from all over the country who are concerned about the low-fat controversy and adults who are up-to-date on the latest political issues. Fumento claims

Fumento uses humor to open the article by stating “the Land of the Fat, Home of the Broad” is how America should be defined. However, this statement might offend people who are obese or anyone in general. Fumento shows that he is unhappy with those people who have been carelessly giving out information on the low-fat diet and claims that much of the obesity epidemic can be laid at the feet of the food industry, diet-book authors, and government health officials. Throughout the piece, Fumento expresses his concern about the rising obesity epidemic and claims that health officials must stick to science if they want to help defeat the epidemic, but “first, do no harm.” The impact of the increasing obesity statistics have concerned Fumento so much that he has also written his own book, “The Fat of the Land,” to discuss this controversy. In the book he discusses the misinformation given out to the public on loosing weight and how they reap billions in profit. Intrinsic ethos takes a positive toll on Fumento’s argument which creates a better chance of getting his point across to the

Fumento efficiently uses his extrinsic ethos to inform the audience about his personal history, to further his argument, and to provide evidence that he is knowledgeable on the subject matter. His intrinsic ethos within the piece strengthens his argument by allowing the readers to fully grasp his attitude toward the subject. Fumento also uses pathetic appeals within the article to provide information about how the food industry, diet-book authors, and government health officials carelessly give out information to the public about low-fat diets. The most effective appeal Fumento uses are logical appeals. In the article, the use of testimony is the most influential because it provides the audience with actual results from studies that have been completed over time. Fumento also uses the rest of the logical appeals effectively through out the article to further improve his argument. Overall, Fumento effectively used all three rhetorical appeals to inform the audience of the low-fat myth being spread by our own trusted government