The number of people who are at risk of serious health problems due to being overweight is increasing. What is the reason for the growth in overweight people in our society and how can the problem be solved?

Obesity is one of the fastest growing health problems in recent years.

This

is causing serious concerns in our society and stemming

this

crisis has become necessary. The primary reason for people gaining weight is unhealthy foods and a government should tax these items to discourage people from purchasing it. Unhealthy items,

such

as fast-

food

and sugary drinks, are the main reason for people becoming obese. A main reason behind

this

is that these items are extremely cheap,

thus

making it accessible to all income levels.

Therefore

, junk

food

becoming steady part of the modern diet resulting in burgeoning obesity problems.

In contrast

, healthy products are relatively more expensive.

For example

, buying a salad for 1 person would cost upward of $10, while anyone can purchase a burger and a soda for less than $5.

This

naturally results in increased consumption of junk

food

and not enough of healthier

food

. Government should play an active role in encouraging consumption of clean and discouraging non-healthy products. One concrete step a local authority can take is controlling prices through the means of taxation. City, state, and national policies should reflect

this

priority by advocating for higher tax-dollars on unhealthy

food

.

For instance

, New York City levies a 10% sugar tax on 16oz or larger drinks and that resulted in reducing demand by 20% of soft drinks. The relation between price and consumption is well accepted in modern economic theories as well. To conclude, the government should be at the forefront of the obesity crisis and must take steps to curb the problem. One way to curtail overweight problem is to make unhealthy

food

more expensive by charging fat-tax, which shall result in rapidly decreasing demand and making society healthier.