Lacewell 1

Alexis M. Lacewell
Bret Zawilski
RC 2001-410
8 December 2015
The Significance of Rhetoric in Exercise Science Texts
Exercise science is a broad term that describes the study of various aspects of exercise,
physical activity, and movement. These concepts serve as part of the foundation for exercise
science and are used to clinically assess various types of conditions and diseases. In exercise
science there are many texts that focus on patient care in relation to specific conditions and
diseases, but they address different audiences by using the same rhetorical features in different
manners. This text will analyze the rhetorical features of two texts that are concerned with
overweight and obese patients, as these conditions are common for exercise science
professionals to come in contact with because of the numerous health and lifestyle issues that
they present. Overweight and obese conditions are often either being treated in patients using
physical activity and exercise or analyzed academically. Texts in the field focused on advocating
for patient care, such as Obesity and Exercise, and academically analyzing patient care, such
as Predictors of increase in physical activity during a 6-month follow-up period among
overweight and physically inactive healthy young adults, tend to differ in their approach even
though they have a common purpose, and the differences in the texts can be attributed to their
individual rhetorical elements.
Obesity and Exercise and Predictors are founded on similar exigencies. Obesity
and Exercise is a web article that discusses the various benefits of exercise and how to integrate

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it into ones lifestyle, which establishes its exigence as the increasing prevalence of obesity as it
correlates with a lack of exercise in the United States. Schmidt states that obesity affects close
to one third of all adults and occurs when the amount of calories consumed exceeds the
amount of calories expended over a long period of time (para. 1). The author immediately
allows the readers to consider the extent of the preexisting conditions that surround obesity,
specifically in the adult population, and to understand that it is a pressing issue that requires
attention.
On the other hand, Predictors is an academic text from the Journal of Exercise
Science & Fitness that analyzes various factors that affect whether or not a participants overall
physical activity increases. While it differs from Obesity and Exercise in most rhetorical
aspects, it bears a similar exigence-the prevalence of overweight young adults due to a lack of
physical activity. The introduction states,
Physical inactivity together with increasing prevalence of being overweight predisposes
people to increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases. Thus, healthcare workers and other
professionals strive to increase people's participation in regular physical activity.
However, this is a challenging goal (Fhr et al, 2015).
Readers of this text also see the extent of overweight and inactive conditions and want to
improve them by increasing physical activity and exercise particpation, but they view them as
conditions where the means for improvement need to be analyzed. That being said, both texts
audience recognizes the need for obesity and/or overweight conditions to be addressed in order
to better the health of affected individuals.

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Increasing the amount of physical activity and exercise of overweight and/or obese
patients is a common action that most exercise science professionals and both of the texts
employ to address obese and/or overweight conditions, but the method through which the
information concerning bettering patients health through exercise is presented can vary.
Obesity and Exercise utilizes a direct approach where the author prompts readers to reflect on
themselves. Self-reflection allows readers to identify whether or not they are at risk for certain
health issues because of overweight and/or obese conditions. By identifying their risk(s), readers
will have an understanding of their health status as it relates to being overweight and/or obese,
which can be the first step to making decisions that align with the authors goal of engaging in
more physical activity and exercise as method to improve conditions and related health.
Unlike Obesity and Exercise, Predictors uses an indirect approach to promote
physical activity and exercise into the lives of overweight and/or obese patients. The authors use
this academic text to expand the knowledge of the audience by generating a concrete
understanding of factors that increase the potential of altering the physical lifestyles of
overweight and/or obese patients. Predictors charges the audience to utilize specific
strategies that enhance the factors that influence individuals to integrate and maintain physical
activity and exercise into their lives; this way the audience serves as a knowledgeable and
supportive source for individuals throughout the process of bettering their health. Although the
texts are founded on a similar exigence and purpose, the resulting viewpoints of the authors
concerning the exigence and purpose lead to a significant difference in the audiences.
Obesity and Exercise presents information in an informal manner by creating a
conversational space that engages the readers in the benefits of regular physical activity.
Concerned about heart disease? and Feeling a little edgy? are questions in the text where the

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author is directly speaking to readers (Schmidt, 2012, Benefits of Regular Exercise section, para.
2). Because the author directs the questions to the readers, the texts audience can be identified as
people in the public, specifically those who are overweight and/or obese, seeking to alter their
physical state by incorporating exercise into their lifestyles. Conversely, Predictors presents
information in a formal and detached manner, and this presentation is shown in its arrangement.
Because Predictors is a research text and is primarily concerned with analyzing the
impact that participants various attributes have on their physical activity and the methods that
exercise science professionals can employ to address those attributes, it is arranged in sections
similar to those of a science project or lab report. Science projects and reports tend to be void of
personal pronouns and contain discipline specific language. In Predictors, the abstract and
introduction sections provide a general idea of the research, but further into the texts sections,
such as Methods and Results, information is more difficult to decipher and requires
professional knowledge. Without the knowledge of terms and concepts, such as metabolic
equivalent of task (METs) and sense of coherence, someone outside of exercise science or
affiliated disciplines may not understand how this relates to the overall message or how to assess
the validity of the research (Fhr et al, 2015, Methods section para. 7). Therefore, the audience
can be established as professionals seeking to positively alter the lifestyles of overweight young
patients with exercise through a concrete understanding of factors that increase the potential of
that alteration. Having specific audiences, each text also has constraints that have to be
considered and addressed by the authors.
With an audience of overweight and/or obese people seeking to alter their physical state
by incorporating exercise into their lifestyles, the author of Obesity and Exercise largest
constraint to consider is the audiences preconceived beliefs about exercise and sedentary habits.

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Because physical activity and exercise seem daunting and difficult, an overweight and/or obese
patients inactive habits may seem easier to cling to. The text accommodates this constraint with
its pathos. Obesity and Exercise contains engaging questions, simple sentence structures, and
fairly common diction that make the text relatable for readers. Comments such as,
Tired of spending your Saturday afternoons watching TV or doing laundry? Looking for
an activity that the whole family can enjoy? Get moving! Exercise doesnt have to be
grueling. Take a dancing class, push your kids on the swing, or try something new,
are simple, real world examples that generate hopeful feelings for overweight and/or obese
individuals (Schmidt, 2012, Exercise can be FUN section). Most readers can easily visualize
these examples in their daily lives compared to uncomfortable and intimidating exercise feats,
such as completing an Insanity workout. At this point, hopeful overweight and/or obese patients
can transition to incorporating exercise into their lives. The final sections of Obesity and
Exercise discuss beginning exercise programs and helpful tips that can assist in the process,
which continues the authors use of pathos to address its main constraint. This stage in the text
can be the most difficult because it urges the readers to release their preconceived ideas about
exercise and sedentary habits and to actually engage in physical activity to help combat obesity
and receive health benefits. Ease into your workout, sessions can be broken up into three 10minute sessions, and try to resist focusing on weight loss are phrases that generate an
expectation that the application of exercise is gradual. Many readers may believe that integrating
exercise into their routine has to be sudden and all at once, which can lead to fear and cause
discomfort. However, the authors phrases indicate that exercise is not only gradual but should
also minimize discomfort, pain, and fear. If successful, this pathos will elicit comfort in the

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audience, which will allow them to release the traditions that are inhibiting their health and
encourage them to integrate regular exercise into their lifestyle.
Dissimilarly, Predictors audience has roots in an academic community where
relevance and validity are important. The research suggests that there are several factors that can
assist in generating higher levels of physical activity among overweight young adults.
Knowledge and implementation of these factors could allow exercise science professionals to
significantly improve the amount of physical activity that their overweight patients engage in;
however, the data collected in the research is limited and cannot be correlated to a larger
population of people, which is the authors most crucial constraint to consider. The initial sample
size of the study decreased from one hundred and twenty-one to fifty-one, so the authors use
logos to combat the researchs lack of applicableness. One of the primary factors identified to
increase physical activity in overweight young adults is a strong sense of meaningfulness. Sense
of meaningfulness is regarded as a driving force for a life and thus the most important factor
among the Sense of Coherence (SOC) (Fhr et al, 2015, Discussion section para. 2). With a firm
definition of the term of meaningfulness, most professionals can associate it with identifiable
characteristics in their patients: purpose, perseverance, reasoning, and more. However, readers
still need evidence to validate this claim, so the authors compare their findings with the logos
from other studies.
This is in line with results of previous cross-sectional studies showing that strong SOC
is associated with greater physical activity (PA) prevalence among healthy adults, and
higher PA volume among adult type 1 diabetics. A 13-year follow-up study by Myers et al
revealed an association between low SOC and decreased engagement in PA among
patients with myocardial infarction (Fhr et al, 2015, Discussion section para. 2).

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The logos presented corresponds the authors claims about sense of meaningfulness with various
other studies and sources that have been completed and found greater statistical meaning on based
similar factors. By addressing the constraints of studys applicable nature with logos, the authors
of Predictors successfully validate their claims, which allows professionals the ability to
implement sound information into their practices.
Altogether, Obesity and Exercise and Predictors are texts in exercise science that
are representative of the fields use exercise and physical activity to assess and, ultimately,
improve clinical conditions, such as being overweight and/or obese. Rhetorical elements allowed
the authors to construct the purpose and effectiveness of their texts around their exigencies with
respect to their audiences. Most of the texts rhetorical elements are contrasted because they
accommodate different audiences; however, the audiences can be expanded to include discourse
communities. Predictors.., even though it requires more professional knowledge, and Obesity
and Exercise can be utilized in other disciplines by people the authors may never come in contact
with. For example, both texts could be utilized in a populous company implementing health
initiatives. The insurance and finance department of the company would be interested in
minimizing overall health care costs. They could use the rhetorical appeals used in Obesity and
Exercise to create a relatable brochure to be distributed to employees about why health is
important and how small, gradual changes can make significant differences. If an employee
doesnt adapt well to the initiatives, the two departments and potentially a psychologist can refer
to the factors analyzed in Predictors about methods to improve the individuals adaptation.
Given this example, the rhetorical strategies embedded throughout texts in exercise science allow
it to connect with multiple other disciplines. This multidisciplinary connection is the primary
reason for the in depth documentation, assessment, and treatment of clinical conditions and

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diseases by exercise science professionals and, more importantly, the success of the field as a
whole.

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Works Cited
Fhr, T., Kainulainen, H., Karhunen, L., Kolemainen, M., Kujala, U.M., Lappalainen, R., &
Mutikainen, S. (2015, August 14). Predictors of increase in physical activity during a 6month follow-up period among overweight and physically inactive healthy young adults.
Journal of Exercise Science & Fitness. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1728869X15000222#
Schmidt, S. (2012, January 19). Obesity and Exercise. ACSM Fit Society. Retrieved from
http://acsm.org/public-information/articles/2012/01/19/obesity-and-exercise