Childhood obesity has become a serious problem in recent years.
What are the primary causes of this?
What measures should be taken to reduce childhood obesity?
The number of obese children globally is rising at an alarming rate. This phenomenon is mainly a result of the proliferation of fast food adverts targeting children and entertaining activities online. The best fixes for this nascent problem include a higher tax imposed on junk food and parents encouraging children’s participation in sports.
More children now have become overweight as a result of increased production of fast food advertisements aiming at them. Fast food brands typically devise adverts specifically designed for children and use mediums ranging from television to billboards and leaflets to tempt them into convincing their parents purchasing these unhealthy meals. A pertinent example of this is McDonald’s, which offers customers a happy menu that is sold to children at a discount to further fuel their consumption. Moreover, children are much less active due to the availability of fun indoor activities. At present, most children spend their pastime passively watching television or surfing on the Internet instead of engaging in outdoor activities. In reality, traditional hobbies for children like hide and seek and hopscotch have been gradually replaced by online games and videos, resulting in more children leading a sedentary lifestyle.
However, the government can raise tax on fast food to address this problem. The implementation of a higher tax generally translates to costlier fast food, rendering it as a less appealing option for parents when choosing food for their children. A good example of this would be Vietnam, where fast food is expensive to the general public and therefore is among the countries with the lowest rate of child obesity worldwide. Another effective measure involves parents incentivizing their children to take part in sporting activities. Recent research and surveys conducted have indicated that parents who spend time playing sports such as badminton and basketball with their children after school considerably reduce their risks of becoming obese.
In conclusion, the increasing number of children being overweight can be attributable to the prevalence of fast food adverts targeting children and passive forms of entertainment. Nevertheless, this problem can be effectively countered with a higher tax rate on fast food and parents motivating their children to become more active.
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Globally toàn cầu
Alarming đáng báo động
Phenomenon hiện tượng
Proliferation sự gia tăng nhanh chóng
Nascent mới xuất hiện
Imposed on áp đặt lên
Typically thường
Devise tạo ra
Mediums trung gian
Billboards biển quảng cáo
Leaflets tờ rơi
Tempt xúi giục
Convince thuyết phục
A pertinent example một ví dụ điển hình
At a discount giảm giá
Fuel thúc đẩy
Active vận động
Indoor trong nhà
Pastime thời gian rảnh
Passively một cách thụ động
Engaging in tham gia
In reality trên thực tế
Hopscotch trò chơi ô lò cò
Gradually replaced dần bị thay thế
Sedentary lifestyle lối sống ít vận động