Childhood Obesity

Lyndsey Mcknight

Professor Hammett

English 1302

Essay 2 Rhetorical Analysis

29 July 2023

Word Count: 1137

                                                                              Franz Kafka and Childhood Obesity

       Franz Kafka is an absurdist novelist who is mostly known for his short stories that often depict the troubling feelings that he experienced for most of his life, such as insecurity and anxiety. Kafka’s work was so absurd that it is “difficult to understand unless you are prepared to penetrate the meanders of his personality” (Felisati and Sperati). He often struggled with his body image, self-esteem, and depression, as do many children who are obese. From his early childhood and throughout his adult years, Kafka had “feelings of physical weakness and inadequacy, as well as anxiety” (“Physical and Mental Conditions and Their Causes”). Kafka’s philosophy was that everyone is in control of their lives, and they decide their fate depending on the decisions that they make throughout their lifetime (Ulin). Considering Kafka’s insecurity about his physical appearance, and his belief that people decide their own fate, he would believe that childhood obesity is an epidemic.

     Franz Kafka’s negative feelings about himself led him to have a negative view of the world, “he saw the world as a dark and disturbing place, where people were constantly struggling and suffering” (Dutt). Those feelings of struggle and suffering could be felt by the children who are plagued with obesity. Obesity can lead to a higher risk of developing low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and other medical conditions (“Consequences of Obesity”). Obesity can make it hard for your body to function properly, and with the added risk of mental health issues, it can be said that childhood obesity can lead to the suffering of the children who experience it, which would make Kafka agree that this is an epidemic. Even though obesity cases are high, especially in the United States, there are means of reducing the rate of this epidemic. Treatment and prevention options for childhood obesity include getting enough daily physical exercise, eating healthy and nutritional meals, and having a good sleep schedule, as having a poor sleep schedule increases the risk of children developing obesity (“Childhood Obesity”). Because Kafka felt a great deal of suffering throughout his lifetime, he would think that it is important for children and their parents to make taking care of their health a priority, because he would not want them to have to grow up and suffer the way that he did.

     In cases where there is not an underlying medical condition, obesity can be the result of making bad choices when it comes to eating and exercise habits. Meaning people are in control of their health and weight. Living a sedentary lifestyle, like spending many hours a day watching television or playing on cellular devices, and eating large portions of unhealthy, calorie-dense foods, such as sweets or fast food, are choices that children and their parents willingly make, which increases the risk of them developing obesity (“Childhood Obesity”). Kafka would view these choices as absurd because they are willingly participating in the behaviors that they know will increase the chance of gaining a large amount of weight, and he believes “that we are all responsible for our own fates” (Ulin). So, instead of partaking in behaviors that can potentially have negative effects on someone’s life, Kafka would place importance on making healthy choices. He would believe that making the decision to exercise more and eat a healthy, balanced diet can help people lose weight and get in better shape, which in turn can help eradicate the childhood obesity epidemic.

    Kafka was no stranger to insecurity regarding the way his body looked and to feelings of depression and anxiety. In a letter he wrote to Milena, he said “I am mentally handicapped, the lung disease is none other than the overflow of the mental disease” (Felisati and Sperati). These feelings of emotional distress and insecurity can be seen in his story The Metamorphosis. In Kafka’s story The Metamorphosis Gregor Samsa is transformed into a gigantic and hideous insect. Gregor deals with feelings of alienation and loneliness after his transformation because the people around him no longer accept him due to their “shock at his appearance” (LitCharts). Gregor’s father’s disgust leads him to “pelt Gregor with apples, one of which severely injures him" (1). Children with obesity can relate to these feelings of insecurity shown in The Metamorphosis with their changing bodies. Gregor getting pelted with apples by his father can represent the ongoing bullying that obese children endure, leading to feelings of depression and hopelessness. Children with obesity often deal with isolation just as Gregor did because other children have a hard time accepting them since they look differently from what their peers do (Harrist et al.). If a child feels isolated from their peers that can reinforce the depression that they may be experiencing, causing them to become even more withdrawn (1). The Metamorphosis can be a good representation of how obese children might feel about themselves and the social struggles that they may face.

    At the end of Kafka’s life, he struggled with feelings of guilt, which caused him to refuse to eat food and when he did eat it was a very small amount (Felisati and Sperati). His eating pattern was described as “disorganized” (1). Childhood obesity can lead to those same “disorganized” eating behaviors Kafka dealt with and even eating disorders (Stabouli et al.). Kafka had “difficulty in accepting his own body which he often regards as something not belonging to him” (Felisati and Sperati). Children with obesity can struggle to accept their bodies just as Kafka did, which is one reason obese children may develop an eating disorder to try to lose weight. Because of this very serious consequence of childhood obesity, Kafka would believe that parents should do everything they can to either treat or prevent their children from developing obesity. Even though he had more of a negative view of the word “he also believed that there was still beauty to be found in the world and that it was worth fighting for” (Dutt). Which is why he would not want children to develop an eating disorder from obesity because they can have “very serious health consequences”, and those children would not be able to fully live their lives to find the beauty within it (Stabouli et al.).

    With how Franz Kafka viewed the world and the struggles he faced in his life, he would view childhood obesity as an epidemic that needs to be addressed. Kafka felt that everyone is in control of their own fate, so if children and parents decided to make healthy choices, those choices could change their fate for the better by living a healthy lifestyle, instead of an unhealthy one. Behaviors that can lead to a healthy lifestyle to decrease the rate of childhood obesity include eating a diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, exercising daily, and eating appropriate portion sizes.  

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