Analysis of an article on obesity and teenage body image -"The Big Issue ".

“The Big Issue” explains the repercussions of being overweight. It explains this idea simply and is constructed to communicate in a subtle manner to teenage girls. “You’ve probably heard about the long-term effects of being seriously overweight, like developing diabetes, high-blood pressure, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.” The article only touches on the physical health consequences, so as not to scare the teenage girls although the consequences are definitely there. “The Big Issue” doesn’t contain as much information as the article “Medicine Today” and is not as in depth; however both are constructed to explain that the health consequences are negative.

The main idea in “The Big Issue” is the emotional impact obesity and weight causes to teenage girls. It has the potential to destroy a young girl’s confidence and demolish their self-esteem. Amelia is used frequently in the article to communicate with the target audience and to position the reader to step into Amelia’s shoes and many other teenage girls who are overweight. Amelia feels self-conscious a lot of the time and the article explains Amelia’s self-esteem and confidence issues. Amelia feels uncomfortable doing normal activities such as buying clothes, playing sport, dancing and wearing bathers. “I play netball at school but I don’t really like being seen in my netball skirt coz I’m so self-conscious about my body.” This part of the article is constructed to encourage the audience to understand how hard it is being overweight and the emotional and psychological side effects that go along with it.

“The Big Issue” is constructed to grab and appeal to teenage girls and discuss the issue of obesity and weight. The article uses role models as examples and to explain the topic. Nadia Mastersson, a senior dietician at the women’s and children hospital discusses how and why a teenager is overweight. As Nadia is a qualified dietician at a women’s and children hospital teenage girls would automatically assume that Nadia is correct and speaking the truth. Louis Beur, a consultant paediatrician and specialist in clinical nutrition at the children’s hospital at Westmead in Sydney is another specialist which the article has included to put across the main ideas. “The Big Issue” includes celebrities on the side who are overweight and who teenage girls look up to, including Missy Elliot, Liv Tyler and Kelly Osbourne. The celebrities are placed in the article in an attempt to boost an overweight teenager’s confidence and self-esteem. The article is constructed to include teenage girls so communication is effective with the target audience. Amelia and Julie are included to express their individual views on overweight teens and discuss their own story and the effect weight and body image has on them.

“The Big Issue” discusses the serious health issue of overweight teenage girls, including the reasons for the issue, the effects it can have on the individual’s health, both psychologically and physically. The article is constructed with teenagers, role models and celebrities to communicate effectively with teenage girls. It contains simplified terminology and information in comparison to “Medicine Today” which is constructed differently to communicate effectively with the target audience. “The Big Issue” is constructed to grab a teenage girls attention to explain about the health issue of overweight teenage girls. Countless teenage girls are affected by obesity, therefore steps need to be taken to prevent this psychological and physical health issue.