Obesity is now a major global epidemic. What can be done to tackle this increasingly common problem?

According to the Panorama of

Food

and Nutritional Security, the percentage of

people

with obesity tripled since 1975. The increased prevalence of overweight is mainly caused by cheap, unhealthy

food

and

people

’s sedentary lifestyle. Nowadays, society often does not have time and energy to prepare meals for themselves.

This

is why fast

food

and semi-finished products are so popular. They are cheap, widely advertised, tasty, contain a lot of calories, and not enough nutrients.

Also

because of city lifestyle with cars, public transport, and prevalence of remote work, the amount of physical activity decreased in everyday life of an average person. All

this

leads to overweight and

consequently

problems with health. Obesity can be a cause of premature death and illness including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, and many other diseases. So, what can be done to tackle

this

problem?

First

of all, I believe,

people

should be educated about a healthy diet and good eating habits. It takes some time for our brain to receive satiety signals after we consumed the necessary amounts of calories. So, it is important to know how much

food

do we need and what nutrients should

food

contain.

Additionally

,

people

should learn to distinguish hunger from other triggers,

for example

, stress, bad mood, social interactions. I think it is a good idea to include these topics in the school program and advertise a healthy lifestyle.

Secondly

, I think healthy

food

should be more available. Government should support companies, which are selling healthy snacks, and regulate the content of processed foods on the market.

Third

, I think, regular physical activity should be promoted by increasing walking and cycling paths.

Also

, it is great when there are sports facilities at the workplace and compensation of sports expenses for employees. In conclusion, the increase in the weight of many

people

in various countries owes mainly to the high consumption of unhealthy

food

and lack of exercise.

However

, these problems can be dealt with if healthy and nutritious choices are available and affordable to all consumers,

people

increase their daily physical activity, and are informed of the dangers of eating unhealthily.