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IELTS Writing Task 2/ IELTS Essay:

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

The number of overweight children in developed countries is increasing. Some people think this is due to problems such as the growing number of fast food outlets. Others believe that parents are to blame for not looking after their children's health.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with these views?

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

Write at least 250 words.

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that children are overweight and the situation is getting worse, according to the medical experts. I feel there are a number of reasons for this.

Some people blame the fact that we are surrounded by shops selling unhealthy, fatty foods such as chips and fried chicken, at low prices. This has created a whole generation of adults who have never cooked a meal for themselves. If there were fewer of these restaurants, then children would not be tempted to buy takeaway food.

There is another argument that blames the parents for allowing their children to become overweight. I tend to agree with this view, because good eating habits begin early in life, long before children start to visit fast food outlets. If children are given chips, ice creams and chocolate rather than nourishing food, or are always allowed to choose what they eat, they will go for the sweet and salty foods every time, and this will carry on throughout their lives. Parents decide what to buy and let their children eat and many parents know and feel that their children are overweight and yet let them eat high calorie contained foods like fast foods. If parents try to make their kids understand that those type of fast foods are not good for their health and draw a restriction on how much their kids are allowed to eat then the problem can be solved partially.  

There is a third factor, however, which contributes to the situation. Children these days take very little exercise. They do not walk to school. When they get home, they sit in front of the television or their computers and play video games. Not only is this an unhealthy pastime, it also gives them time to eat more junk food. What they need is to go outside and play active games or sport.

The two views discussed play an equal role in contributing to the problem, but I think we have to encourage young people to be more active, as well as steering them away from fast food outlets and bad eating habits. We need to have a balanced approach.

Alternative Answer 2:
An increasing number of overweight children in many developing nations is a major problem which is always open for a debate. This is a topical question nowadays. Regarding this issue, some people think that problem is due to rise of the number of fast food centres while others point out that parents are responsible for lacking care on children's health. I strongly opine that food habits are completely transformed which need to be rectified immediately.

On one hand, different types of foreign dishes are spread throughout the world. As children are more interested in these foods, they choose them without knowing cons about them. Consequently, a developing country cannot deny the entry of foreign trades which affects economic condition of a nation. The ingredients used to prepare an item in the fast food outlets are of low quality but rich in fat contents and other elements which  affect a child's health. Factors behind increasing demands of fast food centres include - low cost, instant availability, and finally, their distance from workplaces and our home. Fast food shops are located in every corner of the streets and people are being attracted by the variety of different tasty yet detrimental foods.

On the other hand, parents are more blamed due to this problem. There are many factors relevant to this. In this challenging world, both parents are willing to have a job to adopt posh lifestyle and also to show their status. Consequently, their vision on the child's food habit plunged to the low level and thus results in unhealthy food habits. Other reasons like hormonal imbalance or gene transfer from parents to children result in obesity. In this urban life, families prefer to late parties, restaurant foods etc. These new interests devastated healthy food habits.

Finally, in short consumption of fast foods should be reduced gradually simultaneously parents ought to pay more concentration on children habits and also force them to do exercises which keep body it.

(Approximately 300 words)
( by Kalyan Chakravarthy.)

Alternative Answer 3:
All around the world, the living standards are becoming higher and all more similar to western society. This changing in the everyday life brings also its contradictions and drawbacks, like the dramatic increasing in the number of overweight people. This problem is even more worrying if we consider the number of overweight children, which causes will be treated in this essay.

One of the reasons lots of people think is the cause of such a problem is the exponentially growing number of fast food outlets in developed countries. Fast foods originally were places where to eat a meal in few times, but now have become also the easiest and cheapest solution to have lunch all over the world. Consequently millions of families prefer to eat in fast foods where the food is appealing, thanks to the huge work on advertisements, and the cost is reasonable. Therefore, parents bring their children to the fast food outlets, where food isn't organic at all and the dimensions of a meal are completely over-proportioned.

However, parents are responsible for their children's diet and have to look after them in order to avoid they become overweight or even obese. Parents have to find time to prepare healthy food for children, for example, fresh vegetables or meat, that don't require more than half an hour of cooking. Moreover, parents have to free their children's diet from sweets, exchanging them with fresh fruit.

In conclusion, both fast foods and lack of parental control are causes of the increasing number of overweight children. Consequently, a change in familiar eating habits and in fast food outlets menus could prevent the risk of a future worldwide spread obesity problem.

(Approximately 280 words)
( by Luca Brotto.)

Alternative Answer 4:
I strongly believe that both components mentioned: the growing of fast food counters along with parent's attention deficit over their children health could be blamed for the causes of overweight young people.

In term of fast food counter, it should not be solely pointed as the contribution factor toward this matter. The increment of cow milk consumption in toddlers, in a change for breastfeeding milk, is also in charge guilty. Research conducted on this had proven that obesity is common among baby who were given cow milk instead of being breastfed.  Fast food, on the other hand, contains high fats and unsaturated fatty acids, which are hazardous for wellbeing not only for children but also for grown up people. Whereas, parents' lack of attention to their children's eating habits must be taken seriously as well. They must be acknowledged the importance of introducing nutritious meals to children. Children under five years of age, for instance, is best given high protein contains food, which accounts for brain development and boosting their cognitive ability. And as for obesity, one must be alerted on its impact on children's health status for it had been recognised as one of the major factors resulting in cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke.

In conclusion to this essay, parents' knowledge in a healthy lifestyle and early introduction of a healthy lifestyle to the children must be given more emphasis to help anticipate the increase numbers of overweight young people. In addition, a government along with the society must also hold full responsibility for the children's wellbeing in general. It might be a good idea to create a policy controlling fast food outlets opening in many cities.

(Approximately 270 words)
( by Nuke Amadeus.)

Sample Answer 5:
It is true that the problems of obesity children in advance countries have grown rapidly in the past recent years. A group of people believe that it is due to the increasing number of fast food restaurants in the areas, while another group thinks that it is due to the parents’ mistakes, as they have given fewer attentions to the children these days. Although the growing numbers of fast food outlets do affect the problem, but I also agree that the lack attentions of the parents also give significant impact on the obesity cases.

On the one hand, it is undeniable that the significant growths of fast food outlets have truly affected the case of overweight problem in children. In most public places such as in theme parks or shopping malls, fast food outlets restaurant definitely exist, and they offer various kinds of things which attract the children. For instance, Mc Donald regularly gives additional bonus such as toys for the children’s meal package. As more and more children are attracted to visit the fast food outlets, the existence of the outlets have grown rapidly nowadays and they have outnumbered the healthy ones. As a consequence of the increasing trend, the children have more option of outlets that they can select, and the probabilities of the children in consuming the foods are getting higher.

On the other hand, I do believe that parents are also responsible for the problem as well. In the modern days, the roles of wives have changed, as most of them have become career women these days. Since they are focused on their careers, they have less time in doing the household activities, which include preparing meals for their children. Instead of cooking healthy foods, they prefer to give meal allowance to their children, which is more practical and efficient. As a result, many of the children purchased their meal in fast food restaurants, and they have become overweight.

In conclusion, although the increasing populations of fast food restaurants have given some contribution to the problem of overweight children, I do believe that the lack attentions of parents also play a significant role as well.

Sample Answer 6:
It is true that there is a growing trend in obesity children in industrialised nations in recent years. While this issue is being pointed at the widespread fast food restaurants, I would argue that parents should take full responsible for growing a healthy child.

To begin with, the expanding of convenient food stores may not be the cause of overweight children. Although some of the foods served in these restaurants may contain high saturated fat items, there are other factors that could also result in gaining weight as well. Firstly, if children consume an excessive amount of unhealthy snacks, sugary soda drinks, or prepackaged foods, they could also become obsessed. Secondly, even if the family did visit the fast food outlets for meals, parents could still substitute unhealthy items with a healthier menu, such as having French fries replaced with vegetables or salad.

In addition, parents certainly play a vital role in providing a healthy diet for their children. With the invention of the Internet, it is possible to obtain information of food ingredients, daily nutrient proportion needed in each food category and healthy recipes within minutes. Therefore, learning about how to prepare nutrient meals have never been easier. I believe supplying healthy snacks for children during school days and preparing a healthy balanced meal in the evening in routine could lead to a healthy body.

However, we must not be forgotten that ensuring children to have an adequate amount of physical exercise is also a critical contributor to their good health.
In conclusion, I believe that parents should be the ones who play a crucial role in upbringing their children in a healthy environment.

(Approximately 275 words)
(Written by Stacey.)

Sample Answer 7:
In today's world, fast food is one of the main problems of all countries. Fast food causes many health problems including the overweight issue. The proportion of eating fast food among young people is growing year by year and this is why the overweight issue is getting worse over time.

It is believed that increasing the number of fast food outlets such as McDonalds is creating the health problem. As these cafes and fast food outlets are convenient and near to our home or workplace, they have become part of our life in spite of their harmfulness. Children who eat from those fast food shops do not know what is good and what is bad for their health. Nowadays even parents are consuming these foods even after knowing they are not beneficial for our health. This problem does not only create the overweight, besides this, it can cause heart attack and other health problems.

'Busy parents cannot to take care of their children and can’t maintain a balanced diet for them.' -  is a common statement by the working class parents. Due to their lack of time and knowledge, children eat more and more fast food without any parental control and become fattier. Moreover, parents are grown-up enough to know what is healthy and what is unhealthy for their kids. That is why parents should help their children to make a right decision of eating food. Some people think that parents can always go to restaurants where hygienic dishes are served.

As far as I am concerned, parents are more blameworthy than fast food outlets. Parents want to do their best and make their children’s lives more colourful and sound. And they should not work all day, and it would be better if parents can arrange more time for their kids. Also in my opinion parents should cook delicious foods at home, teach their kids about balance diet, ask them to avoid harmful foods and inspire them to do some exercise.

(Approximately 330 words)
(Written by Sherzod Djuraev.)

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