In choosing the topic of obesity in America for this challenge, I was aiming to create an infographic that would make people stop and think about their own health choices and of those around them. As a dancer, staying fit and healthy is a very important part of my lifestyle, and I believe that everyone should be concerned with the way they are treating their own bodies. I wanted this infographic to possess something of a shock factor that would force people to consider just how much of a problem obesity in America is. I chose to present a collection of simple, yet disconcerting facts surrounding the topic, and to represent this information in an infographic so as to recount these statistics in an easily digestible visual form.
For the presentation of the information itself, I tried to minimize the amount of text involved, so that the relevant information can be quickly and easily perceived as images. In addition, I tried to use attractive and varied graphics rather than simple pie charts and bar graphs so as to hold the viewers’ interest. Because research shows that reds and yellows tend to make people hungry, I chose to include these in the color palette I used, as I wanted people to subconsciously relate the image to food while viewing it.
Because the statistics in this infographic are simple and easy to absorb, it has the ability to quickly make an impact on a person’s perspective. I hope that this subsequently encourages people to share the infographic and to carefully consider the concerns it presents.
Sources for this infographic:
www.cdc.gov, http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/10-american-fast-food-menu-items.htm, http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf, http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity
