1. Woessner, Mary N., et al. “The Evolution of Technology and Physical Inactivity: The Good, the Bad, and the Way Forward.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 1 Jan. 1AD, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.655491/full. 

Background: This article discusses the evolution of the relationship between man and labor.  New innovations dating back to the wheel and humans adapting to make the work day easier has been a trend for as long as humans have been documenting history.  We have now become so industrialized that we have eliminated labor almost entirely with machinery and technology as a whole.

How I Used It: This article helped to lay the groundwork for why humans look to the gym for getting active during the day.  This article shows how humans have developed an unbelievably complex society with so many benefits, but it has rid us of the labor and physical activity that we once knew on a daily basis.  This shows a connection to the rising obesity and heart risk we endure as a society as we have food, transportation and communication at virtually the push of a button. 

2. “Lack of Physical Activity.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 25 Sept. 2019, https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/physical-activity.htm. 

Background: This article shows the connection between lack of physical activity and the physical inadequacies of our modern society.  It highlights, though many age groups, how below average we are as a society in getting the recommended amount of activity per day for a healthy lifestyle.  It comes to the conclusion that the great majority of people in the US do not meet this standard of regular physical activity.

How I Used It: This article helped to solidify that the great majority of people today are physically below par.  We are not required to get our bodies moving as much as we needed to in the past.  In order to get somewhere, eat something, or be efficient at work your body was required to be up and move.  We now see this growing trend that we have eliminated this need for activity and it is directly affecting the average person’s health.  This correlation helped to strengthen my argument of the irony of going to the gym when our body used to get this type of exercise by default.

3. Wilmot, E. G., et al. “Sedentary Time in Adults and the Association with Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease AND DEATH: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis – Diabetologia.” SpringerLink, Springer-Verlag, 14 Aug. 2012, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00125-012-2677-z. 

Background:  This article digs deeper into why a sedentary lifestyle is so harmful to us as humans.  It discusses the direct fatal risks of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity.  It describes what many could relate to as a normal daily routine.  This includes sitting in the car, sitting at a desk, watching tv, etc.  These are all aspects of life that are normal today, but fall into this category of complete stagnant behaviour.  The easier tasks get for us the more motivation we lose to even do the smallest forms of physical movement.

How I Used It:  This was a valid source for my argument, as it is something that my reader can truly relate to.  All of us have grown to love our down time, but do not even realize the effects it has on our motivation and health.  These tasks get easier and easier and with that we get lazier and lazier.  This is a horrible cycle, as we are getting satisfaction from convenience rather than efficiency.  We grow dependent on this lifestyle and the comfort we feel is addictive.  Every day that our society participates in this new way of living we get less and less motivated and grow numb to any sense of urgency in our lives.

4. Rind, Esther, et al. “How Is Post-Industrial Decline Associated with the Geography of Physical Activity? Evidence from the Health Survey for England.” Social Science & Medicine (1982), Pergamon, Mar. 2014, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3988884/. 

Background:  This article describes the decline of necessary physical movement in the workplace.  Our once labor intensive and industrial society has somewhat over industrialized, ridding our lives of this fast paced and innovative society. This article studied polls throughout Europe and tracked the deficiencies in physical activity of those throughout different regions of the world.

How I Used It: This article was useful because it offered actual statistics and figures that further supported my argument.  It shows the inverse relationship between decline in activity in the labor force and the increasing obesity rates in the regions mentioned in the studies.  It goes into more detail, explaining how the average miles walked in a day by an individual has gone down by 25% and currently is less than one mile per day.  This all comes to a climax of the article explaining the harmful bi-products of limiting one’s exercise daily.  We have seen it throughout each article where it concludes with this growing threat of cardiovascular disease, obesity and cancer due to this dramatic change in lifestyle.

5. clangle1, Author. “Category: Farming and the Industrial Revolution.” The Story of the Human Body Evolution Health and Disease, 27 Apr. 2020, http://sites.nd.edu/caroline-langley/category/farming-and-the-industrial-revolution/. 

Background:  This article, out of the University of Notre Dame,  goes into detail about how finite and specific labor has become over every industry in our economy.  We’ve gone from spread out forms of manual labor to extremely specific areas of the workforce.  This specialized labor is done using the help of machines to pick up the slack of manpower.

How I Used It:  This article took a different approach to factors contributing to the lack of labor in our modern workforce.  It shows the rise of mass produced goods and tackles a separate issue of the food quality and agricultural aspect.  I used this to show the progression of improving agriculture, which made food more accessible, which made people live longer, which meant more people to feed, which finally led to a need for more output, which hurt the quality of our food.  This is very unique in the way it approaches the issue of our declining health as a population.  In a chaotic friendzy to improve our quality of life, we have succeeded, but made feeding ourselves much more daunting of a task.

6. Lakdawalla, Darius, and Tomas Philipson. “The Growth of Obesity and Technological Change.” Economics and Human Biology, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2009, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2767437/. 

Background: This paper focused on the breakdown of body weight and its correlated effects.  It argues that the growth in technology has increased weight among individuals due to the increase in accessibility of homebound activities.  It highlights the predicament of the cheapest food being the unhealthiest and the weight gain that goes on with relation to socioeconomic status. 

How I Used It:  This was a very blunt dive into the problems of weight gain and the causes of this  problem.  I used this in my paper to differentiate the more abstract idea of lifestyle with actual facts that cannot hide the causes of what makes us so unhealthy and inactive.  It was important to use these facts to provide evidence that many of us do not want to come to terms with.   It is important to my argument that these factors  become upfront and personal with us,  so that we can correct these problems.

7. Anderson, Janna, and Lee Rainie. “Concerns about the Future of People’s Well-Being and Digital Life.” Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, Pew Research Center, 31 Dec. 2019, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/04/17/concerns-about-the-future-of-peoples-well-being/. 

Background:  This article focuses on the benefits of innovation, but goes into the dark side and consequences that are inevitable.  The benefits of technology that are used profusely can only prove to have hidden consequences in the near future.  There is a trend throughout humanity where we create something, use it feverishly and later have to deal with the unintended consequences.

How I Used It: This point of view tapped into the opinions of scientists and professionals who believe that we have not even begun to see how harmful this exposure to technological advances will be in the near future.   This buys into my topic of a very monotone lifestyle where technology is running our lives.  This was a scary look at what experts are saying could be so harmful so soon.  This went past my argument of direct physical harm, but solidifies the fear of the unknown consequences that we have not even begun to discover yet.  This added a layer to my paper that goes beyond statistics and highlights how  many are studying these trends of innovation and are almost positive we will endure hardship sooner rather than later.

8. Talbot, Olivia Diane, et al. “SIOWFA14 Science in Our World: Certainty and Cont.” SiOWfa14 Science in Our World Certainty and Cont, 7 Oct. 2014, https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa14/2014/10/07/is-bodybuilding-a-disorder/. 

Background:  This article shows the other side of the health industry where it can become an obsession.  It dives into the dangers of trying to perfect one’s physique.  The abuse that many put on their body in order to be satisfied with themselves in the mirror is a major health concern when taken too far. 

How I Used It:  This article was helpful in my rebuttal to challenge my thoughts and arguments for the benefits of exercise.  The threat of both muscle dysmorphia and anorexia nervosa are brought to the forefront of the extremes of the fitness industry.  The article continues, showing the adverse effects of many people who become consumed with chasing perfection physically.  They grow an addiction to either a very thin physique or a very muscular physique.  Both of these extremes help to oppose my argument and show that too much of anything can be harmful.  Just as my argument continuously brought up concerns of health risk due to inactivity, we see almost the same at the opposite end of the spectrum with these conditions putting individuals at risk of sudden cardiac arrest, kidney failure and overall malnutrition.

9. Lichtenstein, Mia Beck, et al. “Compulsive Exercise: Links, Risks and Challenges Faced.” Psychology Research and Behavior Management, Dove Medical Press, 30 Mar. 2017, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5386595/. 

Background:  This article details the condition of compulsive exercise.  It defines it as the unavoidable addiction to physical exercise which becomes so excessive that it affects the daily life of its victims.  It goes on to describe the harmful side effects of pushing your body to the absolute limit.

How I Used It:  This article contributed to the opposition of my argument for my rebuttal.  It challenges my idea for a need for physical activity and shows the unintended consequences.  I included this to show the arguments against my research, but it also helped to solidify my reasoning.  I contradicted this argument by talking about how the reduction of physical activity in our daily lives due to technological innovation is the reason that we have exercise culture today.  With that being said, these extremes  of physical exercise are a byproduct of humans not getting enough exercise in their daily lives.  In theory, I made the argument that these compulsive disorders may not exist or be as harmful if it had not been due to the dramatic elimination of physical activity.

10. Team, GoodTherapy Editor. “Warning Signs That Someone May Be Exercising Too Much.” GoodTherapy, GoodTherapy, https://www.goodtherapy.org/learn-about-therapy/issues/exercise-addiction. 

Background:  This article tries to tackle the growing problem of exercise addiction and shows the steps toward treatment.  This includes treatment centers, counseling and in severe cases rehab centers.  Others decide to meet with a therapist to break down what causes their addiction to exercise and how to improve their mindset to have a healthy balance.

How I Used It:  This not only helped form my rebuttal, but also gave me a different outlook on my argument in its entirety.  I felt that it showed the clear importance of balance and recentered my reason for arguing this topic in the first place.  My research was directed toward fighting the extreme of a motionless lifestyle and overeating, but I saw a transition of this into the negative effects of what I was arguing as the cure in exercise. The article forced me to take an overview and realize that our society lacks balance in all facets and we need to find this harmoney to be as healthy as we can be as human beings.

11. Team, Heart and Vascular. “Heart Risks Associated with Extreme Exercise.” Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, 25 Sept. 2020, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-too-much-extreme-exercise-damage-your-heart/. 

Background:  This article showed the counterintuitive nature of exercise possibly causing heart issues.  It explains that many take this hobby too far and turn a healthy habit into a complete strain on the heart.  Many cloud their judgement with the idea of great work ethic and end up running their bodies ragged.

 How I Used It: This article helped open my eyes to the fact that our bodies also function best with maximum rest.  My argument to maximize exercise was met with this source in my rebuttal as a wake up call that we need a lot to satisfy our bodies.  In order to maximize the body’s productivity it needs adequate exercise followed by rest to restore the body.  This is easily lost in my want to support my theme of physical activity, but this article helped to bring to the forefront the need of balance between motion and rest.  It helped me to discover the reason why a rebuttal is so helpful, as it opens our eyes to factors that we may have overlooked.  This in the end only strengthens our argument because we know how to better support it going forward.