Is public health a personal responsibility or the responsibility of the government ielts essay?

IELTS Writing Task 2 essay with model answer

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Write about the following topic

Some people think the government should take measures regarding the healthy lifestyles of individuals. Others think it must be managed by individuals. Discuss both sides and give your opinion.

Model Answer:

It is often argued that the State should take the responsibility of ensuring a healthy lifestyle of its citizens. However, others believe that the ones lie on the person to lead a healthy, stress-free life. I believe that it is the joint responsibility of the individual and the government and over the course of my essay, I will explain my point of view.

On the other hand, it is true that each person is responsible for his own life choices. A healthy body is a healthy mind. So it is our duty to eat healthily and lead an active life. Nobody will be able to change our lifestyle for the better if we ourselves are unwilling to adopt a healthy way of living. What one eats, how much one exercise, who one does to lead a healthy stress-free life is one's own concern. To illustrate, most textbooks teach us about balanced healthy diet in our science class. However, with time, most of this knowledge is put on the back burner when we indulge in eating fast food. Similarly, the statutory warnings like "Smoking kills", "Alcohol is injurious to health" are flashed during the screening of any such scene on television. However, that does not deter people from taking up these vices! Therefore, it is up to the individual to make healthy lifestyle choices to ensure longevity and well being.

Having said this, it is also true that the government, being an administrative body, should take the responsibility of maintaining the well-being of the public for various reasons. Firstly, improving the health of the citizens eventually leads to a decrease in disease burden and healthcare-related expenditure. This money can be utilised by the State for other beneficial purposes like building infrastructure. For example, the NHS of the United Kingdom takes care of the country's health, and it would be advantageous if a part of the expenditure could be cut down thanks to a healthier society. Secondly, the government alone has the authority to take the fast food chains heavily and to curb the sale of liquor and tobacco. This will ensure decreased availability to the people and therefore improve the health of the public. Moreover, government-sponsored health awareness programmes can help to build a healthy future generation.

All in all, I believe that both the State and the individual should work hand in hand to ensure a healthy, disease-free life because to clap, both hands are needed.

Total Words: 340

Task Achievement: 9

Coherence & Cohesion: 9

Lexical resources: 9

Grammar: 9

Overall Score: Band 9

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Tags: model answer writing task 2

Some people think that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that people in the country have healthy lifestyles. Other people believe that individuals should be free to decide their own lifestyles. Give your own opinion.

The last two decades witnessed an alarming rise in the proportion of adults with unhealthy lifestyles. Smoking, alcohol misuse and obesity have substantially increased the risk of developing some of the most debilitating chronic diseases. Most people understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle in the prevention of disease and the delay in the deterio­ration in their health. They also know that lifestyle changes and choices can be critical in determining their health and lifespan. Yet, news reports reveal that less than 15 percent of the population around the globe practices a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, the role of the government in the promotion of a healthy lifestyle is difficult yet inescapable.

We know that unhealthy lifestyles may result from a lack of self-discipline. Nevertheless, many factors, including economic status, education, genetics, social factors, culture and media, contribute to the high number of people who have adopted lifestyles that under­mine their health. The answer to the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles lies beyond the scope of the influence of any individual citizen, any non-governmental organization or any sector to address on its own. The government of a country can play a stewardship role in public health, providing leadership and drawing in players from across many sectors. The government may also work collectively across departments and with other shareholders on legislation, regulation and taxation levers, to support activities that promote healthy eating, physical activity and healthy weights.

Admittedly, governments should never curtail the freedom of citizens to choose their own lifestyles. However, too often people are unaware of the unhealthy habits they have acquired because they hardly stop to observe their own lifestyles. Government efforts are, therefore, essential to enhance citizens’ healthy awareness.

On the basis of the above-mentioned arguments, we can conclude that the government is well positioned to help citizens break the habits that undermine their health and thus, it plays a key role in the promotion of healthy lifestyles.

VOCABULARY

alarming – adj. đáng báo động

alcohol – n. thức uống có cồn

misuse – n. sự lạm dụng

obesity – n. bệnh béo phì

substantially – adv. đáng kể

debilitating – adj. dễ suy nhược

chronic – adj. mãn tính

deterioration –n. tình trạng xấu đi

genetics – n. di truyền học

prevalence – n. sự phổ biến

stewardship – n. cương vị quản lý

collectively – adv. chung

shareholder – n. cổ đông

legislation – n. luật

regulation – n. quy định

admittedly – adv. phải thừa nhận

curtail – vt. hạn chế

Argument collection

Possible arguments

• The answer to the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles lies beyond the scope of the influence of any individual citizen, any non-governmental organization or any sector to address on its own.
• The government of a country can play a stewardship role in public health, providing leadership and drawing in players from across many sectors.
• Too often people are unaware of the unhealthy habits they have acquired because they hardly stop to observe their own lifestyles.

Tags: IELTSlifestylestask 1writing

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