The confirmation

Confirmation

1. What is my thesis?

Eating a lot of sugary foods is worse for children than for adults.

    2. What types of source am I using to defend my thesis? 
I use expert’s opinion, statistics, and an article about eating habits.

    3. Are my arguments mostly based on evidence, logic or emotion?
My arguments are mostly based on evidence, but I think I will argue with a bit of emotion to appeal adults who are major in a society. That’s because adults have the responsibility and are willing to educate children to grow healthily

I will argue that children’s preference of sugar is worse than adults’ preference of sugar. To strengthen my argument, I will suggest the risk of having a bad habit in an early age, the situation that children are more exposed to sugar than adults, and the evolutionary theory of children’s preference for sugar.

The biggest problem of children’s preference for sugar is that it can become a bad eating habit. According to health website GreenFacts, adopting healthy habits in an early age decreases the risk of serious health problems as people get older. That means, on the other hand, having bad habits in an early age increases the risk of serious health problems. Although bad habits formed in an early age might be changed later in life, it would be much more difficult as you deal with stressors of work, family and other obligations, as well as potential medical conditions brought on by a lifetime of bad habits. There is a famous proverb that suggests this situation. “What is learned in the cradle is carried to the tomb.” It advises that habits that are formed in an early age are important, and they influence on most of your life. Therefore, I argue that eating a lot of sugary foods in an early age is more dangerous than eating them later as an adult.

Furthermore, in a modern world, children are exposed to sugar intake more than adults are. In a modern world, the advertisements of sugary foods aiming at children have increased to a large amount. There is an example of cereal companies which advertised cereals aiming at children that contain more sugar than cereals aiming at adults. In June 2012, researchers from Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity revealed that even though cereals aimed at kids had become more nutritious, cereal companies (such as Kellogg, General Mills, and Post) had increased their advertising spending considerably. Cereal advertising aimed at children increased by 34% between 2008 and 2011. Marlene Schwartz, deputy director of the Rudd Center, said: "While cereal companies have made small improvements to the nutrition of their child-targeted cereals, these cereals are still far worse than the products they market to adults. They have 56% more sugar, half as much fiber, and 50% more sodium. From the example of sales strategy of cereal companies, we can learn that companies tries to use the mind of parents who are willing to open their wallets to buy their kids what they want. Not only companies that sell cereals use the sales strategy aiming at children, but also companies that sell sugary drinks, chocolates, candies, and snacks use it. The negative aspect of that strategy is of course, the product aiming at children contains more sugar than that aiming at adults. Thus I’m arguing that eating sugary foods is more harmful for children than for adults because children have more possibilities to get bad influence from sugar.

 The evolutionary reason that children crave sugar more than adults also notices the risk of children’s preference for sugar. I mentioned that children prefer sugar because children’s preference for sweet flavors has helped them survive when the foods were scarce above. According to Mennella who works at the Monell Chemical Senses Center, children are actually living in different sensory worlds than adults when it comes to basic tastes. "They prefer much more intense sweetness and saltiness than the adult, and it doesn't decrease until late adolescence." Mennella says. Because of the evolutionary reason for sugary flavor, children are in a more serious danger than adults. Naturally seeking sugary foods doesn’t act as an evolutionary advantage anymore. 

The narration

My persuasive argument thesis is Eating a lot of sugary foods is worse for children than for adults.

1. What do people already know about my topic?

Every person knows that eating too much sugary foods is bad for all people regardless of age. If people eat too much sugar, they can be addicted to it. Also, if it is too much, it can cause a disease like diabetes or tooth decay. 

2. What research has already been done about my topic?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21835302 a study that children tend to crave sugar more than adults

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21843942 I think it would be a good background information that can explain the current situation

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/09/26/140753048/kids-sugar-cravings-might-be-biological physiological facts why children crave sugar, contains specialists' opinions.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/262978.php How much sugar is hidden in your food, want to describe current situation.

3. What are the implications of my argument (What if I'm right? What if I'm right and people ignore me?

If eating sugary foods is worse for children than adults, there will be an increasing need to educate children of eating sugar. Therefore, by educating that eating sugar in an early age is bad, the children's health will be better, and the healthy children will grow as healthy adults.

My narration

 As I talk about the preference for sweet flavors, I will explain you the background information  why children crave sugary foods more than adults in terms of physiology and evolutionary theory. Moreover, I will suggest the risk of eating sweet foods for children in current situation.

Sugar is a simple carbohydrate that belongs to a class of chemically-related sweet-flavored substances. It comes in many different forms. The three main types of sugar are sucrose, lactose, and fructose. First I will tell you why people find sugar so addictive. Sugar can be a dangerous mood booster. It prompts the body to release serotonin, which makes you feel happy, into the blood stream. The instant happiness and joy we get from sugar is why we crave it when we celebrate ourselves and seek comfort and reward. However, the sugar craving that makes us happy triggers an increase in insulin as the body wants to bring blood glucose levels back to normal. This has the knock-on effect of ‘sugar craving’. This is the physiological explanation of the reason why people become addicted to sugar. Especially for children who are growing, the physiological effect is more intense. According to Sue Coldwell, a researcher atthe University of Washington who has studied kids and sweets, and her colleagues, growing bones actually secrete hormones that can influence metabolism. They said metabolic hormones like leptin and insulin have been shown to act on brain areas that control cravings and appetites. It means that the hormones from growing bones of children make them crave sugary foods. 
To understand my thesis, it is important to know the evolutionary theory of craving sugary foods. Many scientists believe a child’s preference for sweet foods is an evolutionary hangover. As children preferred high-calorie foods in times gone by, they would have had a better chance of survival when food sources were unreliable. It has been proven that sugar is a natural pain reliever in children from the research of Mennella who works at the MonellChemical Senses Center. This theory and research suggests the evolutionary evidence that children enjoy sugary foods far more than adults.

However, children’s preference for sweet foods cannot be an advantage anymore in current situation even though it has helped them survive in the past. Rather, it is very dangerous for children to prefer sugary foods in a modern world. In a modern world, manufacturers often add extra sugar to food because it makes them taste better. Even though the information is mentioned in the food labels, the consumers don’t recognize it as sugar because sugar has various forms of words. Therefore, the consumers are impossible to determine the amount of sugar they are eating. They eat sugar more than they imagine without recognizing the truth about sugar. 

The introduction

My thesis : Eating a lot of sugary foods is worse for children than for adults.

If you see chocolate chip cookies and doughnuts that are covered with sugar, you surely feel fantastic and want to eat them. This is not a exceptional case for someone. Most people in the world like to eat sugary foods regardless of age or sex. Of the five flavors, sweet flavor is the flavor that everyone likes. However, it is not good to eat too much sweet foods for us. Especially, the sweet temptation of sugar is more dangerous for children than for adults. That is because they easily tend to lose their self-control and they can form a habit of craving sweet flavors in an early age. Eating sugary foods is surely worse for children than for adults.

1.attention grabber
As an attention grabber, I stated the case of enjoying sweet foods very specifically. Furthermore, I emphasized that craving sweet flavor is a common phenomenon.

2. Explains the topic
I all explained that eating sugary foods is worse for children than adults. Also, I suggested the general reasons why I think like that.
3.My thesis
My thesis is “Eating sugary foods is worse for children than for adults.” I think it is clear and an argument. With this topic, we can dispute whether eating sugary foods is worse for children or for adults.

classical argument outline

1. The introduction, which warms up the audience, establishes goodwill and rapport with the readers, and announces the general theme or thesis of the argument.

As an attention grabber, I will state the case of enjoying sweet foods very specifically. Furthermore, I will emphasize that craving sweet flavor is a common phenomenon. Also, I suggested the general reasons why I think like that.

2. The narration, which summarizes relevant background material, provides any information the audience needs to know about the environment and circumstances that produce the argument, and set up the stakes-what’s at risk in this question. In academic writing, this often takes the form of a literature review.

I will use physiological theory about bone growing, and also use the evolutionary theory. Also I will suggest the current situation that sugar is everywhere.

3. The confirmation,which lays out in a logical order (usually strongest to weakest or most obvious to most subtle) the claims that support the thesis, providing evidence for each claim.

I will emphasize the importance of forming a habit in an early age. Also I will mention the phenomenon that children are exposed to sugar, suggesting the case of advertisement aiming at children.

4. The refutation and concession, which looks at opposing viewpoints to the writer’s claims, anticipating objections from the audience, and allowing as much of the opposing viewpoints as possible without weakening the thesis.

To oppose the idea that adults will be influenced more by side effects of eating sugar, I will say fact that children are younger than adults makes the preference for sugar more dangerous. I will point out the fault of missing the future.

5. The summation, which provides a strong conclusion, amplifying the force of the argument,  and showing the readers that this solution is the best at meeting the circumstances.

I will suggest the after effects If my argument is persuaded. I will emphasize that it will form a healthy cycle to educate the risk of sugar intake to children.

Research 3

Source:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/09/26/140753048/kids-sugar-cravings-might-be-biological

My Topic:
Eating a lot of sugary foods is worse for children than for adults.

What I hope to learn from this source:
I want to know the biological facts why children crave sugar.  

Notes:

1. In this article,  there is Mennella's research. It has shown that sugar is a natural pain reliever in children, and many hospitals even put a sweet-tasting liquid in a baby's mouth during circumcisions or heel stick procedures to help lessen the pain. I want to use this research to support the evolutionary theory of craving sugar. It is reliable because Mennella is a specialist and therefore I can use this research.

3. Secondly, I want to use the Coldwell's statement. Coldwell says that one important clue lies in the discovery that growing bones actually secrete hormones that can influence metabolism. Other well-known metabolic hormones like leptin and insulin have been shown to act on brain areas that control cravings and appetites, and even directly bind to the tongue, where they affect the preference for sweet tastes. "I don't know for sure, but I am very suspicious that the bones are somehow telling either the brain or the tongue that there is energy needed for their growth and signaling for that preference to increase," he says. I think it is good because it is a specialist's opinion. However, I feel something lacking because his comments doesn't seem obvious. He is saying "I don't know for sure." and "suspicious". However, on the other hand, I think it could be a good reason to strengthen my topic because it is a new and fresh idea supporting children's preference for sugary foods.

Final Thoughts:

This source is interesting because it contains specialists' opinions. In my next research, I want to find the importance of eating habits of children and the statistics that is related to my topic.

Research 2

Source:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21843942

My Topic:
Eating a lot of sugary foods is worse for children than for adults

What I hope to learn from this source:
 I want to find some background informations that informs current phenomenon of eating sugar

Notes:

1.  The article states the sugar consumption in a modern world. According to the article, manufacturers often add extra sugar to food because it makes them taste better. When fat is removed from a processed meal, for example, sugar is often added to help disguise the blander taste. Because of this, many foods we think of as wholesome - like yoghurt, granola bars, low-fat snacks and fruit-flavoured water - may actually contain much more sugar than we realise. I want to describe the current situation of sugar consumption. Moreover, I want to emphasize the situation that children are easily exposed to much sugar without noticing.

2. The article also states the diseases that you can get if you eat too much sugar. Of the diseases, I want to mention diabetes, heart disease, tooth decay and bad mood. Also, I want to focus that eating sugary foods is worse for children than for adults because it can become a habit and  grow a disease in an early age.

Final Thoughts:

This source is quite interesting. I think it would be a good background information that can explain the current situation. But there isn't specific statistics or study to support my topic. Therefore, in my next research I would like to find specific data.

Articulation

1) My argument 
I want to argue that eating too much sugar is worse for children than for adults. I want to explain about how much sugar we are eating, what is sugar addiction, and the health problems it causes and especially its effect on children

2) How I found my argument 
My first research question was, why do people like sugary foods? As I continued researching I found that sugar addiction negatively influences people's health and especially for children. I found it interesting that children's craving for sugary food is biological. I thought that then sugar addiction is more dangerous for children than adults. So, my argument is that sugar addiction is bad for children's health.

3) New research questions 
I have several questions that need to be resolved.
a How much sugar is hidden in our food?
b Does sugar addiction mentally influence children?
I'll continue browsing the internet and looking for interesting articles and keeping track of my research with blog posts.

4) Connections to the Harvard Sampler 
 This argument obviously is related to the human mind. Craving sugar is related to the human mind. And it is related to evolution because children's craving sugary food is biological. 

Research 1

Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21835302

My Topic:
Eating a lot of sugary foods is worse for children than for adults.

What I hope to learn from this source: 
I want to know why sugar is so addictive. Furthermore, I want to know why children crave sugary foods more than adults

Notes:

1.Why children crave sugary foods more than adults?
 According to the BBC science article, a child's preference for sugary foods is an evolutionary hangover, as young children who preferred high-calorie foods in times gone by would have had a better chance of survival when food sources were unreliable. Also, a recent study from Washington University, found that newborns have a distinct preference for sweet flavours over other flavours, while children enjoy sugary foods far more than adults. I think it can be a good evolutionary evidence for children's preference for sweet flavors. To support my thesis, I want to emphasize that it is not an advantage anymore in a modern world that everyone can eat sugary foods easily.

2. Why sugar is so addictive?

The article states that sugar can be a mood-booster as it prompts the body to release the 'happy hormone' serotonin into the blood stream. Meanwhile, it also states that the pleasant sugar rush triggers an increase in insulin as the body strives to bring blood glucose levels back to normal. This has the knock-on effect of causing a 'sugar crash'. The article is about physiological reason for craving sugary foods. I think it would be a good background information. This content will help people better understand my topic. 

Final Thoughts:

This source is interesting. I found a study that children tend to crave sugar more than adults. However I think that I should find something that is more detail. I think I need some statistics to support my argument.