IELTS Writing Task 2 Sample 238 - Societies are facing a growing problem with obesity

IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

All over the world, societies are facing a growing problem with obesity. This problem affects both children and adults. What are the reasons for this rise in obesity? How could it be tackled?

You should write at least 250 words.


Model Answer 1:
Over the last few years, obesity has become a serious problem. These days, it affects an increasing number of both children and adults. Causes of overweight must be considered and addressed effectively; otherwise, societies will suffer from even greater health problems. This essay will look at the causes of this problem and make some suggestions about how to tackle it.

One of the main causes of overweight is the high intake of junk food such as hamburgers, chips, and fried chicken. Many people prefer to have a takeaway meal or pick up a pre-prepared food in the supermarket, which contain high salt and fat, rather than cooking a healthy meal at home. For instance, in the UK, sales of junk food have risen significantly over the last few years. The solution is for the government to increase sales tax on any food that is considered to be unhealthy. This would make consumers decrease their intake of this type of food and start to make the healthy home-made one. People lack the knowledge of food ingredients and their health issues and thus do not make informed decisions while talking foods. Easy access to private cars has reduced the walking and cycling habit of people. The quality and ingredients of quick foods/ fast foods are not strictly monitored by the authority.

Another problem is that fewer and fewer persons are doing sports. This is because of the high expenses of registration in a gym. For example, the monthly fees of gyms in the UK are around 40 or 50 pounds, which is very difficult to be afforded by many. To address this, the government could assign more money for sports facilities such as gyms to become more affordable. So that many persons would hopefully do sports and consequently start to lose weight.

A third cause of the problem is the sedentary lifestyle many families are living all the time. The high quality of life and having many facilities make our lifestyle lazier. Many families have more than one car and they are using all the cars all the time to go to their destinations, even if it can be reached by bus or on foot. The way forward might be for the government to increase the price of oil and charge owners of private cars for road use. This would make people go to their destinations on foot or by bicycles instead of using their cars.

To sum up, obesity becomes an increasingly worrying issue affecting a wide range of age groups. In my view, government, parents and school all have a role to play in tackling the problem. Action must be taken urgently; otherwise, our country will face even more serious problems in health.   

(by Ahmed)

Model Answer 2:
As the number of people who are overweight increases from day to day in the majority of countries in the world, it is essential that we consider the reasons for the growth in obesity among both youngsters and grown-ups. This naturally leads us to the question of how should societies treat the people who faced the problem of fatness. In this essay, I will explore the reasons for the situation in question, and try to find out the methods that can be applied to reduce corpulence among the people.

To begin with, obesity may be viewed as a consequence of a better quality of life. Nowadays, workers earn more money and can afford eating food in the desirable amounts. This is not a problem as long as they are physically active. For instance, the US soldiers are keen eaters but their work requires a lot of energy thus reducing the risk of becoming burly. Therefore, the first step to avoid portliness is to do as many physical activities as you can or simply walk about five kilometres a day.

Another common reason of why people get stout is the quality of food they consume. It is obvious that humans prefer nutrient products, which often contain insane amounts of fat. I believe that most of us have to change the diet by including more fruits and vegetables into it and replacing meat with fish, which is more contributing to our health.

Many scientists believe that stress can also cause the wish of devouring more products, especially bakery and sweets. This mainly concerns women rather than men. To avoid this, those who are exposed to stress must find other ways of coping with it. They can relax their nerves by going in for sports, such as swimming and running.

(by Diore Soligno)
