Topic Proposal - Trends and Culture

1. What is your topic and how does it relate to the overall theme of trends and culture?

My topic is the snack food exchange to healthier snacks in vending machines at public schools. This relates to the overall theme and culture because in our society today, statistically, there has been an increase in obese children. In recent years, public schools have replaced soda drinks with juice.

2. What is the main controversy? Who are the participants in the debate?

The main controversy is if it is necessary for public schools to replace soda drinks and snacks with juice and nutritionally snack foods. The participants includes the school districts that are thinking or already replacing vending machines with healthier, nutritionally foods, student government, parents, and the surrounding communities of the school.

3. Please list all the causes/effects you intend to explore in your essay. Obviously, you might come up with other causes/effects based on your research, but it is useful to know what you have to start with.

Cause: Current snacks and drinks in vending machines cause children to become obese at much earlier age

Effects: Diabetes will appear at a younger age; children and young adults are not aware of the effects of unhealthy snacks; the rate of diabetes will increase dramatically within the next few decades; Diabetes and obese adults will be an epidemic

4. What approach will you be using? Please explain if you plan to combine approaches.

I will approach in the student's point of view, and the parent's point of view. But I will lean towards more of parent's point of view because I know the effects of unhealthy snack foods. This will show the approach of why the school districts are replacing unhealthy snack and drinks with more nutritionally snacked foods in recent years.

5. What information will you be looking for as you start researching the topic?

I will look for statistics from various school districts, articles that have been written by student newspapers, national media (such as newspapers and stories about this topic), what is nutritionally right for children and young adults, the effects of the "unhealthy" snacked food, and comparison of unhealthy and nutritionally snacked foods.