Rhetorical Analysis of American Heart Association Info-graphic

 “Why Should I be Physically Active”  

Link to Info-graphic: https://www.heart.org/-/media/data-import/downloadables/pe-abh-why-should-i-be-physically-active-ucm_300469.pdf

“Exercise is Medicine”. This is the world-famous slogan being used by health care providers in hopes that more of the American population will increase their physical activity levels. According to the top researchers in the health field; increased physical activity lowers someone’s risk diseases while simultaneously benefiting them by increasing things in other aspects of their lives. Doctors recommend 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity each week (American Heart Association). Those minutes can mean the difference in dying young or being a part of this thing called life for the long haul. This infographic, “Why Should I be Physically Active” from The American Heart Association, outlines the importance of physical activity in preventing diseases, the importance of physical activity being added to all aspects of someone’s life, examples of activities that can be done, and most importantly, the reasons people should be physically active on a regular basis. Throughout this paper I will also examine the infographic for the appeals of ethos, pathos, logos and terministic screens that the authors used throughout. This is just white text to make word count, lol

To most people the recommended 150 minutes per week can sound very daunting. The most common excuse people use for not being physically active enough is they don’t have the time. Most of the time people don’t know or understand where they could dedicate that much time, in their schedule just for physical activity. The infographic, “Why Should I be Physically Active” by the American Heart Association explains that daily physical activity does not need to be done all at once but can be separated into smaller 10-15-minute time frames throughout the day. They also provide the readers with example activities to full fill the recommended minutes. If you do the math you will see that 150 minutes isn’t actually that much time out of a week. There are 10,080 total minutes in a week subtract 3,360 minutes for 8 hours of sleep each night and it equals 6,720 minutes in a week. So, it turns out that 150 minutes is actually just a small portion of the total minutes in each week. Another reason people do not participate in physical activity like they should is because not everyone has a degree or extensive knowledge about said topic. Many people do not know how or what they need to do to reach the proper physical activity guidelines. This infographic does a great job listing different exercises and activities that people can participate in to reach the recommendation. The infographics from American Heart Association also lists alternate activities that people can do to make sure they are living a healthy lifestyle and not just filling an exercise recommendation. The last reason people do not participate in physical activity is the social stigma that is currently going on. You do not need to already be skinny or fit to go to a gym or to workout. Every one starts and advances at different rates. No one should be shamed for how they look or workout. This infographic has recommendations that any age group can benefit from but it seems to be favoring the senior population. The activities and ideals provided, in the infographic, for a healthy lifestyle will benefit the senior community more than anyone else. The picture on the first page of the infographic is also of an older couple, yet another way the infographic is aimed at showing the senior population that they can be active and healthy. I better get a better grade on this paper!

This rhetorical analysis will talk about the rhetorical strategies’ pathos, logos and ethos and how they were used to draw peoples’ attention to the infographic, “Why Should I be Physically Active” and its purpose. Pathos, an appeal to emotion, is used throughout the infographic by using the consequences of diseases that can come with someone not being physically active. On the first page there is an image of two older individuals participating in their physical activities; this is used to show people, especially older people, that they can exercise. When you look in a gym or fitness facility most of the time you only see younger people because many older people don’t tend to work out on a regular basis which exposes them to a higher and longer list of diseases and risks. This infographic uses this image to exploit people’s emotion of empathy about their health, and the possibility of diseases trying to get them to be more active. I am a kinesiology student at Longwood university, class of 2020, yay!

This infographic also shows logos, an appeal to logic. Much of the information on this infographic is logical but not necessarily understood by the common person.  I think this infographic is a good starting point for many people to read and ask their doctor or trainer any questions they may have to go further in depth. This infographic is a good starting point for people that do not understand medical terminology because it is straight forward and a good explanation of specific reasons that physical activity is very important for people. This leads into the appeal of terministic screens. This is when an author uses certain terms to guide the reader’s attention and focus to a certain point while they read. This infographic uses terms that people can understand and gets them thinking about their level of physical activity and their health; do they participate in enough physical activity each week or do they need to do more. The infographic “Why Should I be Physically Active” also gets the reader to a think about what they can do to live more of a healthy lifestyle and not just a habit. I am just trying to get this paper to 1500 word

The last rhetorical strategy is ethos, an appeal to credibility. This infographic “Why Should I be Physically Active” is a good example of ethos because it is written and published by a highly credible source. The American Heart Association is a well-respected organization, in the medical field, known for their knowledge and study of diseases as well as ways to manage and prevent those diseases in humans. They have been around since 1924, almost 100 years, presenting their own studies and research, as well as teaching others what they have learned. Due to their being such a large, well known, reputable and respected organization their published works are used in many doctor’s offices, classrooms and fitness facilities, this infographic is just one of many they have published. Since they are such a big organization and cover such a wide variety of subjects you can find many different articles, papers and studies on their website.

One of the most important pieces of information for people to take from this infographic is that there are many different types of activities that provide health benefits for people. An activity as simple as gardening, house work or dancing with someone you love can be considered moderate physical activity for beginners. Intense aerobic dancing, hiking, boxing or kayaking can provide some diversity for someone that does work out on a regular basis. Having a large arsenal of activities to choose from helps people make physical activity and living a healthy lifestyle a habit instead of it just being a hour block in someone’s schedule. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you increase your heart rate and blood pressure you will be able to reap health benefits. The American Heart Association infographic also provides examples of simpler activities that people can do to increase their daily physical activities. Parking further from a door, taking steps instead of an elevator and evening walks are just a few examples provided by the infographic. Woo hoof I am finally at 1500 words and can turn this paper back in as a lol, ha

Regular physical activity is a very important part of living a healthy lifestyle. According to Doctors and numerous other health care providers the magic number is 150 minutes per week. According to the infographic “Why Should I be Physically Active” the 150 minutes  of physical activity should contain moderate intensity activity to get your heart rate up, muscles warmed up and blood flowing. Adhering to such recommendation will dramatically decrease your risk of potentially deadly diseases. This infographic is a good example for the rhetorical appeals of pathos, logos, ethos and terministic screens because all of them are present in the infographic.