You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

An increasing number of children are overweight which could result many problems when they grow older both in terms of their health and health care costs. Why do you think so many children are overweight? What could be done to solve this problem?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own experience or knowledge.

Write at least 250 words. 

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Statistics show the rate of overweight children is rising dramatically worldwide, and experts warn this would eventually a burden for the society in future. There are two major reasons behind this and these can be solved effectively if child-care is taken more seriously.

The primary reason behind this burning issue is because of the lack of awareness about today’s parents about the right amount of calories needed for their children according to their age and gender. To make it clearer, in this commercialised world, most parents are deceived by the advertisements of food marketing companies, which claim their products are the best for the growth and development of children. The potential harm is the consumption of excess calories and unnecessary sugars by children, which make them obese. Another issue is the increased screen time an average child spends today. Unlike the past, when children used to play outdoors, today, children are addicted to electronic gadgets, which makes their life sedentary.

In order to solve the first problem, every parent should be made aware of the right diet for their child at each stage of his or her development. In addition, parents should be cautioned about the adverse effects of convenience foods and junk foods on their children’s health. Instead, they should be encouraged to give them home-made food, preferably organic in origin. The solution to the second issue is to cultivate interest among young children to play and socialise outdoors. There should be restrictions on the screen time among the children and they should be encouraged in activities like football, which make them both physically and mentally fit.

To conclude, it is clear that today’s parents should be more aware about their children’s diet and exercise. This would not only help them to cut down future healthcare costs of their children, but also assist them to bring up a healthy generation.

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