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Discussion (Discuss both views) Health Task 2

Many children today are overweight and suffer serious health problems. Give the reasons for this and solutions to help in the child obesity issue.

A full IELTS Writing Task 2 answer to this question, with a paragraph plan and what this question type is asking you to do.

The question

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Many children today are overweight and suffer serious health problems. Give the reasons for this and solutions to help in the child obesity issue.

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

Write at least 250 words.

How to read this question

You are given two opposing views and asked to discuss both before giving your own. The single most common Band 6 cause here is discussing both sides but never stating your own opinion, or stating it only in the conclusion.

Paragraph plan

Introduction — Paraphrase the topic, acknowledge both reasons and solutions are required. No personal opinion is needed for this essay type.

Body 1 — Explain the main causes with development, not just a list.

Body 2 — Match solutions to the causes identified. Be specific about how each solution works.

Conclusion — Summarise causes and solutions, reinforce the need for collective responsibility.

Model answer

Model answer

343 words

Childhood obesity has become a growing public health concern in many parts of the world, with rising numbers of young people suffering from weight-related conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Understanding the underlying causes of this trend is essential before effective solutions can be identified and implemented.

The primary driver of childhood obesity is the widespread availability and aggressive marketing of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. Fast food chains, sugary beverages, and heavily processed snacks are not only cheap and convenient but are also specifically marketed to children through television, social media, and popular mascots. As a result, young people develop unhealthy dietary preferences from an early age. Compounding this is the increasingly sedentary lifestyle that modern children lead. The rise of smartphones, streaming platforms, and online gaming has drastically reduced the time children spend on physical activity. Unlike previous generations who played outdoors after school, many children today spend several hours each day in front of screens, burning far fewer calories than they consume.

Addressing childhood obesity requires coordinated action from families, schools, and governments. At the family level, parents should be encouraged to model healthy eating behaviours, prepare home-cooked meals using fresh ingredients, and actively limit their children's screen time. Nutritional education campaigns can support parents who lack the knowledge or confidence to make better dietary choices. Schools can reinforce this by replacing processed cafeteria food with balanced meals and by making daily physical education a compulsory part of the curriculum. Government intervention is equally important: restricting junk food advertising during children's television broadcasts, introducing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages, and funding community sports programmes can all contribute to creating an environment in which healthy choices are the default rather than the exception.

In summary, childhood obesity is largely the result of poor dietary habits fuelled by food marketing and a significant decline in physical activity. Tackling this problem effectively demands a coordinated response from parents, educational institutions, and policymakers. With sustained effort across all three levels, it is possible to reverse current trends and secure better long-term health outcomes for future generations.

Model answers written and reviewed by The English All-in-One IELTS team. They are teaching models showing what each band looks like, not real candidate scripts.

This is a discussion (discuss both views) question. The model answer above shows you what a strong answer looks like when it is finished. What it cannot show you is how to get there from a blank page in forty minutes.

That is what our Writing Study Library is for: the structure we teach for this exact question type, the paragraph pattern that goes with it, and the sentence openers for each stage — so the essay is planned before you start writing rather than assembled as you go.

See the structure for this question type →

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