Some People Think That The Government Is Responsible For The Rise In Obesity In Children

Some people think that the government is responsible for the rise in obesity in children, while others think it is the fault of the parents. Discuss both sides and give your opinion?

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Band 7 IELTS essay sample

Obesity has become a matter of concern across the world. Some would argue that the increase in the incidence of obesity is due to wrong government policies, while others say that it is primarily the responsibility of parents to ensure that their kids are following healthy lifestyle. Although to some extent the government has contributed to obesity by allowing multiple unhealthy food brands in the market, I believe the major responsibility is with the parents to ensure that right lifestyle habits are taught to kids.

The government has allowed the entry of many food brands into local market. This has resulted in an increase in the consumption of unhealthy foods amongst young kids. They prefer to eat fast food rather than homemade food. Lack of government regulation on adverts of fast-food brands is adding more to this choice. To illustrate, a survey by the Economic Times stated that in the last decade cases of obesity increased by 22% due to the introduction of new fast-food brands.

On the other side, parents play a much more crucial role in imparting core lifestyle habits. As parents are the first contact point for kids, they are bound to learn more from them. The majority of the parents are ignorant of how detrimental fast food is to kids’ health. For example, a sample study done among 300 parents in Florida revealed that 72% of the parents were unaware that drinking coke will damage or weaken the intestines of children for life. Therefore, clearly it is the responsibility of parents to teach right eating habits to their kids on a day to day basis.

In conclusion, although we can see that the government has allowed fast food brands and thus increased the consumption of unhealthy food, in my opinion, it is primarily the responsibility of parents to inculcate healthy eating habits in children.