In some countries the average weight of people is increasing and their levels of health and fitness are decreasing.
What do you think are the causes of these problems and what measures could be taken to solve them?
Many people are suffering from the problem of increasing weight which in turn affects their health adversely. This is the serious problem; its main causes are junk food consumption and a lack of exercise. It can be tackled by a government in various ways.
Consuming a large quantity of junk food together with a lack of exercise are the main reasons of increasing weight of people. They usually consume more pre-prepared food since it takes less time as compared to cooking raw food. Consequently, they face issues in digestion which ultimately makes them obese. According to a recent survey, for example, the average weight of children in the USA has increased by 2 kilograms between 2002 and 2016. The prime reason was the higher consumption of burgers and pizzas. Another cause for the higher average weight is not doing regular exercise. People believe that it is a waste of time and hence prefer sedentary lifestyle. For instance, although many Japanese eat fruits in their daily meals, they are becoming more fat than Chinese because of not doing exercise and lower physical activities.
However, there are two possible solutions of the aforementioned problem. First, a government should impose higher taxes on the junk food so that people can be discouraged in terms of paying higher prices. Take Delhi for example. The consumption of fast food has been decreased substantially from 2016 since a local food authority had imposed 20% levy on it. Second, a government should encourage people to do more physical activities by providing more public parks and amenities. This will not only persuade them to do exercise regularly, but also compel them to bring their children. As a result, they will become physically and mentally fit. For instance, the Australian government had provided free access of most gyms to its citizens in 2018. Resultantly, the average weight of around 50% of citizens had been reduced by 8 kilograms.
In conclusion, people are suffering from rising weight problems in some countries because of consuming more fast-food and a lack of physical activities. This can be tackled by a government by taking some important measures.