Marina Vicente

Mr. White
AP Literature- P.3
14 October 2016
Senior Project Research Reflection
The extensive research found on the Internet concerning adolescent nutrition and
obesity has shockingly opened my eyes to a worldwide issue I had never really analyzed.
This health issue is one that kills without a warning and impacts an entire family along
with the victim, and to make the situation worse; its growing more and more common in
our country, and especially within our vulnerable school age population. At the time I
started my research I never fully understood how serious this issue really was, until I
explored through the statistics regarding its distribution in the United States. Within our
country, about thirty- nine percent of children and adolescents, combined, are obese,
which is a dramatic change from the insignificant percentages calculated in the 1980s.
That information along with witnessing it at school was enough to convince me more that
it was best to center my project on nutrition, specifically that of students my age or under,
which are the most vulnerable to making poor eating choices due to their busy schedules
and serious lack of exercise. Minimizing my research to only children and adolescents
has helped me become more focused and committed to my goal, because taking on a
larger group would require more than I could possibly do. The research, planning, and
extra assistance from my mentor have greatly aided me in executing my cookbook idea.
The cookbook, which is still in its early stages of manufacture, is turning out better than I

had ever dreamed of, which is the goal, so that it could reach out effectively to as many
students as possible and convince them to change their lifestyles before its far too late.