Cultural Analysis of Most Teens Aren't Active Enough, And It's Not Always Their Fault

by Patti Neighmond 

Previewing: This text was published in February of 2014, a year where childhood obesity was a major issue. Today, childhood obesity is still a major issue throughout the United States school systems. Numerous parents, teachers, students and individuals believe this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed now! They believe that if children are obese now, they will most likely be obese in their adult lives. However, several individuals believe there is no issue with childhood obesity in our school systems today, and that cutting PE classes off saves money and does not effect the students. I looked up this article on Google and saw that people on Twitter have tweeted and favorited it. Others have commented their opinions about this article and about how sports have became focused more on competition in the U.S., and less on children having fun and staying active.
Skim for cultural references: I believe that one of the main cultural references in this text is sports because the United States is a country that is really big on sports such as football and baseball. The text mentions that children should play sports to stay active and that several teenagers enjoy playing different sports.
Skim for cultural values: One cultural value that is emphasized throughout this article is the importance of staying active. Numerous children nowadays do not get the necessary amount of time to stay active as they should be getting. Schools are getting rid of their PE classes and cutting down recess time to about 15 minutes each day, leaving approximately 45 minutes to sit around and eat lunch. I believe that this article is trying to address the issue of childhood obesity because our culture values physical activity.
Reread and narrow your focus: Some of the most important ideas in this text include:

• Children should be getting at least one hour of physical activity a day- benefits the physical and mental well-beings of a child because it strengthens bones, alleviates stress and increases their capabilities to learn.
• Not enough teenagers are getting the amount of physical activity they need- watching TV is one main contributing factor to this issue. 
• Another contributor- more and more schools have been cutting back on their Physical Education programs. 
• Another contributor- parents because they are worried about the safety of their children and want them indoors instead of outdoors. 
• In several studies, boys are more physically active than girls. 
• Recommendations to resolve this issue: families can become more physically active together. Parents need to pressure schools to bring back their PE programs or to increase the amount of physical activity in their programs. 

1. Important cultural keywords: physical activity (or exercise), obesity and teenagers/children. 
2. Number of times each word or a synonym is used: Physical activity/ exercise- Eleven times, Obesity: two times, Teenagers/children: Seventeen times. 
3. and 4: Cultural Keyword Cluster