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.

I agree to the statement that in some countries particularly developed world people are becoming obese and they are unhealthy and very unfit. According to me there are several reasons for this. Primarily, I believe eating fast food and drinking carbonated drinks everyday is one of the main reasons for obesity. The second reason is lack of exercise and spending time watching television and not going out for walk regularly. The third reason is the busy life style as a result , most families eat out more and do not cook healthy food at home.

In my opinion, today fast food and carbonated drinks are priced very low in comparision to healthy food. In USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, carbonated drinks are cheaper than buying water. Also fast food restaurants in these countries offer burgers, pizzas and other items at such a cheap price that people end up eating it more and more everyday. Buying vegetables, fruits and other healthy fruit juice is more expensive, added to the time spent cooking these things. This has resulted in people developing unhealthy food habits and becoming obese.

Another reason for people becoming obese is that these lazy people buy fast food deals (Coke + burger) for themselves and their families, get a DVD or watch movies on television. These people do not do enough household work and also do not go for morning / evening walk. Our generation today is becoming lazy and believes in everything available easily without much physical efforts. For going out they use cars rather than cycling or walking down the street.

The final cause is also broken families. As children are growing up in broken families, they do not get the love, affection and time that is available to a normal healthy family. Most families today are single parents who spent a lot of time outside house. Children are forced to become independent at a very early age. They start eating junk food and ordering fast food as there is no one to cook for them. Even parents get them fast food as it is cheaper and easily available.

Overall, I would like to conclude that busy life style, unhealthy food habits and lack of exercise are the main reasons behind people’s increasing wealth in some countries. This problem can be easily solved by ensuring that a balance in life style is maintained. People need to ensure that they eat at least five fruits everyday. Older generation need to ensure that our young generation is getting a balanced diet and that we are not becoming a couch potato. A healthy mind stays in a healthy body. So we need to ensure that we all eat healthy, excercise daily and look after ourselves and our loved ones.