Annotation:
This Primary source is a cartoon illustrated by Ron Tandberg in 2008 that depicts an Olympic race labeled “The Obese Olympics”. In 2008, the Beijing Olympics were being held and Australia was catching up rapidly to America’s fastest growing obesity crisis. This illustration attempts to bring attention to the rising obesity rate in Australia by displaying a group of obese figures that are wearing green and gold to portray Australians. These figures are in wheelchairs and rather than running, they are being pushed, suggesting that Australians are becoming more obese. Here in Australia, international fast food giants such as McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Dominos, which have migrated from America, are dominating supermarket food courts and family meals due to advertisements, time saved from cooking and ease of access, indicating the growth in globalisation for the fast …show more content…
Other factors have significantly contributed to the sudden increase in Fast food culture, for instance, the introduction of Television brought rates up as families started spending less time outside and being active, and more time being sedentary in front of a television screen. The social aspect of a family dinner quickly diminished after TV was introduced as families started having “pre-packaged” food or “TV Dinners” to replace a home cooked meal. These meals were often consumed in front of the TV, allowing family members to spend more time eating and watching televised content than communicating with others. This practice was already prevalent in American culture and spread quickly to Australia through the media people were beginning to view. As Australian’s noticed this common habit through televised programs, they adapted to what they saw and started to do the same. This source demonstrates the fear of increasing obesity rates throughout the Australian community around the time of its creation and further shows the effect that Americanisation has had on the way