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Government study projects 100% cure for anorexia in adults by 2048
By Gary | August 7, 2008
According to a government funded scientific study released recently, if present trends in American health and lifestyle continue, "86 percent of American adults will be overweight by 2030, with an obesity rate of 51 percent. By 2048, all U.S. adults could be at least mildly overweight."
Which means the study is now projecting anorexia in adults will be 100% eradicated by 2048. If "all U.S. adults" are mildly overweight, then none of them can be anorexic, can they?
The study claims regarding obese and overweight adults are accurate as I've discussed them; I made up the part about anorexia. To be honest, the anorexia was a crack my son made when he found the report online and read it to me.
I intentionally titled this post the way I did and wrote the first two paragraphs the way I did to make a point about the power of writing in general and about copy writing and public relations writing in particular: Words can be used and misused to do amazing things.
Good writers learn how to do remarkable things with words -- and the better writers are wise enough and careful enough to use this power for good and not for evil. (Unless you write copy for politicians. In that case, you're just scum. Kidding, just kidding.)
Using reports, studies, statistics, etc., can be especially dangerous. And using medical studies, drug reviews, diet pill reviews, etc., for ad campaigns can carry its own set of risks. Think about the television commercials you see dozens of times a day for prescription drugs. The copywriter faces the challenge of wooing your business for the pharmaceutical company while adding the necessary warnings and disclaimers to protect various corporate behinds from lawsuits. If you watch and listen to such commercials carefully, you'll note that the warnings and disclaimers generally take more commercial time than the benefits and sales pitch itself.
Be crafty with your words when you write. Be careful with your words. Use your writing for good and not for evil. And, if you succumb to the evil, negotiate a big contract.
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