Obesity, Market Failure and Government Intervention.

Obesity

Obesity is accumulation of fat in the body that increases very fast. There are some methods which we can use to measure obesity. One of them is the Body Mass Index (BMI). It is calculated as your weight (kg) divided by your height (metres). Recent establishments show that people of average weight are considered to have a BMI between 18.5 and 25. People who have a BMI of over 30 are con

sidered obese.

Here is some interesting fats about obesity in the UK.

- 70% of men and 63% of women in the UK are overweight or obese.

- Obesity accounts for 30000 deaths a year in the UK.

- Obesity is estimated to cost the British economy over £2bn every year.

- One in five children in Britain eats no fruit at all.

Causation

1) Changing life styles. Some people don't have enough spare time to cook, so they have to buy something in supermarkets or take-away food. Especially workers, who have just one our for linch is likely to use fast food, which is, probably, could cause obesity.

2) The falling real cost of processed foods because of economies of scale. Fast food is always cheaper than fresh food, because companies who sell fast food are operating on the level of economies of scale (large size)

3) Calories.

4) A rise in relative poverty.

5) Bigger portions.