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Question: Is Obesity The Problem Of The Consumers And Not Of The Producers? Answer: Introduction When fat gets accumulated in a persons body that it can have a negative effect on their health and this condition is known as obesity. A person having 20% more weight than required is considered obese. Every packaged product, one tears open to eat its content, has the calorie count printed in bold letters. Anyone who can read knows what they are eating and how it will affect their body. Still, when it comes to the blaming game, the responsibility of the problem of obesity is given to the companies, fast-food restaurants, and other food sellers who sell food which is sugary, high in fat, and salty. To decide whether it is the companies or the consumers who should be blamed for the problem of increasing obesity it is important to analyze both the factors (Burgess, Hassmen, Pumpa, 2017). The studies demonstrated that not only food habits, but many other factors contribute to the increasing obesity. Poor life-styles and socio-economic deprivation are some common factors that are prevale nt in the rapidly increasing obesity. With the alarming rates, obesity and being over-weight are becoming the reasons for many health problems which cause pressure on the health care system to find the solution for it (Elbel et al., 2013). In this essay the position of both consumers and companies will be evaluated to find who is responsible for the increasing problem of obesity. Obesity is no good and a control on it is an important factor that needs attention. In developed nations, the big food companies are under constant attack by health advocates saying that it is the junk food that makes the main contribution to the constantly growing waistline and chronic diseases. The results of obesity are the chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary heart diseases. In addition, above all physical inactivity and smoking habits exacerbate the problems to its maximum level. This tendency is found more prominent amongst people of lower socio-economic status (Han et al., 2014). Though the lifestyles may vary from country to country, the drivers for obesity were found to be poor lifestyles and the deprived socio-economic status of people. It is said that the influence of physiological and lifestyle stress affects the person and results in increased body fat and issues of obesity. Apart from adults, children are also becoming obese, and, in the last thre e decades, the problem of child obesity has risen substantially. The policy makers are working hard to control the epidemic, obesity is causing, but the issue is to find the main cause of obesity in people ranging from 5 years to 60 years of age which researcher have not found et (Larson, Ellison,2014). Obesity has turned into an epidemic, which has affected people of every age, gender, and economic status. There has been a major debate over fast-food companies and other food companies and whether they are responsible for the obesity. People have even called fast-food the new tobacco as people become addicted to it and face its harmful prospects in the future. The advertisements of tasty, nice smelling, and looking fast-food with some free toys are filling the main time-slots of television attracts everyone including children to the food the company is selling. To attract the customer companies, spend a lot on these advertisements. The debaters say that the advertisements of healthy food like fruit, and milk, are non-existent which makes it difficult to ignore the junk food (Lobstein et al., 2015). The food industry says that they are just advertising what people are asking for. They say that they are not forcing anyone to eat their products, and also, they are following the policie s of the government to control the increasing obesity which includes mentioning the nutritional values of the food on the packaging. It clearly says the amount of salt, sugar, fat, carbohydrates, and other relevant information that the food contains. When they are not hiding anything, why are they to blame for increasing obesity. Moreover, for selling their products, they have to use promotional methods, and in that, they are going to make their food look good and delicious, not as a reason for obesity. As per food companies the customers are sensible enough to decide that the promoted product is healthy for them or not. A company is never forces anyone to make the purchase and consume their product so they cannot be held responsible for increasing obesity (Morrisson, 2011). It is true, that nobody forces anyone to eat the food full of sugar, carbohydrates, and fat that the companies are selling. This side of the debate says that it is a consumers responsibility to manage what a person is eating and how it is going to affect him. Furthermore, if a person is eating food which can result in obesity, proper exercise and care need to be taken. If a person has the purchasing power and liking for something, it becomes their personal choice to make the purchase and eat the product or understand the ill impact it is going to cause and avoid it (Peretti, 2013). A healthy lifestyle also reduces the unhealthy effects of fast-food. People say that advertisements of the consumer products are so attractive and convincing that people get bound to make the purchase of the product. Companies like McDonalds give toys with a specially segmented happy meal for children, which attracts the children and they force their parents to make the purchase. However, no one asks paren ts to purchase a big box of French fries and let children sit and watch television while devouring it and later complain about increasing obesity. Sensibility lies in deciding whether the product is good for health or not(Stanish, 2010). Responsible or not, it is the time for food companies to become realistic when advertising their food products, for children especially. There are many companies that are selling food that is being segmented as healthy, but they hide the negative facts of it. For example, Kelloggs company was sued in the US for advertising their nutria-grain bar as healthy as a bowl of salad or a glass of milk, whereas the claim says that the company is not showing the level of sugar and fats the nutria-grain bar has, which increases the trans-fat in the body and may result in heart disease. Even people personally and as a parent have to be responsible for deciding how they are eating and in what quantity. They should consider their life style also to avoid the epidemic of obesity affecting them or their children and the result will be a healthier world(Zheng, 2016). Conclusion Obesity negatively affect the health and this is a fact. A healthy life style and a thought before eating are very important to keep the issues like obesity away.Humans are smart enough to decide what is good for them. Even companies selling products that may result in obesity, especially for children, must feel the responsibility of showing a contribution to the healthy population and the future generations. The socio-economic factors and lifestyle of the people are affecting the increasing rate of obesity in the developed, and developing countries, and policies are required that affect positively in controlling the increasing obesity. Hence, it is concluded that both the consumers and the producers are responsible for the increasing obesity. References Burgess, E., Hassmen, P., Pumpa, K. (2017). Determinants of adherence to lifestyle intervention in adults with obesity: a systematic review. Clinical Obesity, 7(3), 123-135. Elbel, B., Mijanovich, T., Dixon, L., Abrams, C., Weitzman, B., Kersh, R. (2013). Calorie labelling, fast food purchasing and restaurant visits. Obesity, 21(11), 2172-2179. Han, T., Lee, D., Lean, M., Finn, J., O'Neill, T., Bartfai, G. (2014). Associations of obesity with socioeconomic and lifestyle factors in middle-aged and elderly men: European Male Aging Study (EMAS). European Journal of Management, 172(1), 59-67. Ing, B. (2014). Viewpoint: Who is to Blame for Childhood Obesity?. Thespec.com. The Hamilton Spectator, 1(1), 1. Larson, D., Ellison, B. (2014). Whos to blame for obesity? Policy makers, the food industry, or individuals? | ACES News :: College of ACES, University of Illinois. News.aces.illinois.edu. Lobstein, T., Jackson-Leach, R., Moodie, M., Hall, K., Gortmaker, S., Swinburn, B. (2015). 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