Obesity in America

One topic of interest has been the increase of obesity among children. I recall the days when my classmates and I had recess and played many sports in gym class. Many students around my grade were small or a bit husky. A husky child ten years ago would be smaller than an obese child today. If we begin to look at many young children we have to agree that there is an epidemic in regards to child obesity. One big factor in the fight towards obesity is the lack of physical activity and easy access to poor nutritional foods. The old days of riding bikes around the neighborhood, and eating real home cooked meals are decreasing. We can take a closer look at the percentage of obesity in America in http://healthyamericans.org and see the difference among states.

An academy that is attempting to fix the problem with child obesity is called Wellspring Academy. This academy has been previewed on the style network show, “Too Fat For Fifteen: Fighting Back” demonstrates young teens dealing with morbid obesity. The academy has two locations and demonstrates a different concept of tackling obesity in America. The stories of many students are shared on www.wellspringacademies.com along with the philosophy of the school. One thing the show and school demonstrate is that obesity can be fixed if we acknowledge all the different components.

Looking at the website and a few episodes, obesity is a difficult challenge. In order to accomplish success in battling obesity there is a huge team of trainers, psychologists, teachers, nutritionists, and personal counselors. The best thing parents and children can do is look at the quality of life that obesity presents. Obesity creates a life of struggles, with illnesses that can lead to death. People deserve a better quality of life. Our nation needs to wake up and be on the same page in order to resolve the issue. Knowledge and the will to change to a different lifestyle is the beginning of the journey. Our youth deserves a happy and healthy childhood. Dying young due to illnesses cause by obesity is unjust.

Gratuity Included

A few days ago I ate at this small restaurant in downtown Framingham. The food was delicious and the service was quick and efficient. Upon receiving the bill, there was a fifteen percent gratuity included. There was a small sign on the table saying every bill will include a gratuity of fifteen percent. I have experienced included gratuity outside the country, or with parties greater than six or eight. It makes me think if this will become the new norm for restaurants. On a personal level included gratuity is a good thing especially in this tough economy.

Big portions of wait staff income come from tips. Legal hourly wages are described in greater detail on www.paywizard.org. This site provides the legal amount a restaurant must pay in order to match the minimum wage. Included gratuity is a good thing most of the time. Our regular gratuity service is based on service, leaving the customer in control of how they tip. Some of my co-workers that have worked in restaurants have expressed the frustration of providing good service and receiving little or no tip. It is this behavior which I feel is motivating restaurants to include gratuity.

Included gratuity might be seen as a bad thing in regards to receiving poor service. It must be frustrating to tip a wait staff member who provides horrible service. The issue that people need to remember is that a service is still a service. Gratuity should be included in order to pay for the service being provided. A bad tip will not resolve the issue of the server. One way to express poor service would be to report the negative dining experience with a manager. This way the manager can take other forms of action in order to fix the behavior of the wait staff.