Andrew Babyak May 27, 2015
Chem C Odd Mr. Ippolito
Shire, Maker of Binge-Eating Drug Vyvanse, First Marketed the Disease
Thomas, Katie. "Shire, Maker of Binge-Eating Drug Vyvanse, First Marketed the Disease." New York Times. N.p., 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2015%2F02%2F25%2Fbusiness%2Fshire-maker-of-binge-eating-drug-vyvanse-first-marketed-the-disease.html%3F_r%3D0>.
This is a very interesting article. This article discusses binge-eating as well as possible forms of treatment, specifically a new drug called Vyvanse. Shockingly, many professional athletes can develop this disease as a result of the large amount of food that they have to eat after a workout or a game. This fact was proved when retired tennis player Monica Seles became a spokeswoman for Shire, and publicly talked about her personal struggle with binge eating. Ms. Seles promotes Shire’s top-selling drug Vyvanse, to treat binge-eating disorder. You probably have heard of Michael Phelps’ absurd eight to ten thousand calorie diet per day and may have wondered how he consumes such a large amount of food per day. Monica Seles trained to a very high extent, just like Phelps and even consumed a large amount of food too. However, as the years went by, she was unable to control what she ate and her large meal plan, turned into a binge-eating disorder. This article shows exactly how our diets can get the best of us if we are not careful. Although Vyvanse is a great way of treating binge-eating disorders, there are many things about it that worry doctors and federal organizations. For example, “Several drug safety and addiction experts said the approval was of particular concern because of amphetamines’ troubled history as a treatment for weight loss. Vyvanse is converted by the body into an amphetamine when it is swallowed” (Katie Thomas 3). Vyvanse can be abused by many users as a form of weight loss or in the purpose of getting high, now that the general public knows about the glories of amphetamines (Thomas 2). Although Vyvanse has some flaws in it, it still serves as a useful treatment to binge-eating disorders.
This topic has a significant connection to my personal life. As a national level swimmer and lacrosse player, I consume a large amount of food and calories a day due to the amount of exercise and calories I do in my workouts. I need to keep fueling my body with food or else my muscles will not have enough energy to perform at the high level of intensity that I need them to. Although, I do not eat as much as Michael Phelps, I still need to be mindful of what I eat and make sure that I do not lose control of what I am putting into my body.
Overall, I thought that this was a well written article. The author included several different opinions of large organizations that pertained to the topic, which allowed the reader to see both sides to the use of Vyvanse. The author also did a nice job of describing Vyvanse and its purpose. Finally, I thought the article would be better if the author, Katie Thomas, included a brief overview of what a binge-eating disorder is and the symptoms and causes it has. If you did not know what a binge-eating disorder was when you were reading the article it would be difficult to follow and understand what was going on.
After reviewing Andrew's critique on the article, Shire, Maker of Binge-Eating Drug Vyvanse, First Marketed the Disease, by Katie Thomas, there were many things I thought he did particularly well. First of all, his paragraph on the article’s importance to his personal life was really good and I could tell he could really relate to what was being discussed. Also, he made sure to cite his work whenever he quoted or paraphrased something in his summary, which not only provides evidence for where he’s getting his information, but also creates a more professional look for the critique. In addition, he discussed both points of view to the drug in his summary and explained both the cons and the pros so, as a reader, it was very easy to understand. Although his critique was really well written, there are a few things he could do to improve its quality. One, it might have been interesting to hear about the topic’s importance to people’s everyday lives, as well as his own. Another thing was that he could have been a little more specific in his critique paragraph because, as that’s the most important paragraph in a critique, it's helpful to know exactly what should be noted about the article. However, his review was overall very well done and I was particularly impressed by his understanding of the topic, which made it clearer for the reader to understand and enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThomas, Katie. "Shire, Maker of Binge-Eating Drug Vyvanse, First Marketed the Disease." New York Times. N.p., 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015. .
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Andrew’s review of the article Shire, Maker of Binge-Eating Drug Vyvanse, First Marketed the Disease I felt that he did a great job. I really enjoyed how he included the story of Monica Seles and went into great length and detail about the situation, and the aftermath of Seles’ disorder becoming public. But what I thought was exceptional was that he connected the article to himself. In doing this us as readers were able to see that Andrew really connected with the article’s topic and the issue at hand. I also enjoyed how he connected himself to a professional athlete, like Michael Phelps, we understand him connecting himself to. I thought that was very interesting and ingenious. Although I really enjoyed Andrew’s critique I felt there were some areas he could improve on. I think including more information on how the treatment effects other people in daily life would have been helpful besides the story about Monica Seles. I also think a better description or explanation of the treatment/ drug would have been helpful, in order to gain a better understanding. I really enjoyed how Andrew found an article he could connect to his life, and did a great job in his critique.
Thomas, Katie. "Shire, Maker of Binge-Eating Drug Vyvanse, First Marketed the Disease." New
ReplyDeleteYork Times. N.p., 24 Feb. 2015. Web. 27 Feb. 2015.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/business/shire-maker-of-binge-eating-drug-vyvanse-first-marketed-the-disease.html?_r=0
After reading Andrew's fantastic review on the article, Shire, Maker of Binge-Eating Drug Vyvanse, First Marketed the Disease, by Katie Thomas, there were many aspects of this piece I thought he did very well. First off, he used MLA citations whenever he quoted or paraphrased a passage in his summary. This not only provides evidence for where he’s getting his information from, but also creates a more professional look for the critique. Also, his paragraph on the article’s importance to his personal life was well constructed and it was easy to tell that he could really relate to what was being discussed. In addition, he discussed both sides of view to the drug in his summary and explained both the cons and the pros so, as a reader, it was very easy to understand, as well as making an unbiased critique. Although his critique was really well written, there are a few things he could do to improve its quality. One, he could have been a little more specific in his critique paragraph because, as that’s the most important paragraph in a critique, it's helpful to know exactly what should be noted about the article. Another thing was that it might have been interesting to hear about the topic’s importance to people’s everyday lives, as well as his own. However, his review was overall very well done and I was particularly impressed by his understanding of the topic, which made it clearer for the reader to understand and enjoy.