■ Direction· Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. Write at least 150 words.

· Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task. Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience. Write at least 250 words.

Your Answer ▼

It is a common belief that the government should not be concerned about and gets involved in citizens’ lifestyles. However, there is a more persuasive argument that the healthy lifestyle of individuals needs to be controlled by the government because their unhealthy ways of living can lead to a long-term economic burden on the government.

On the one hand, allowing the government to ensure the people’s healthy lifestyle can be an infringement of individuals’ liberties because every citizen would be controlled by the government in their daily lives. If the government have been involved in people’s lifestyles, they would have to share their personal information with the government, such as what they eat every day or how often they exercise although they don’t want to do so. Furthermore, this situation would lead individuals to be under intense pressure, resulting in a decline in their mental health. In a recent health survey study conducted in Korea, for example, an overwhelming 86 percent of respondents reported that they have the right to decide their lifestyles and they are responsible for maintaining them to be healthy.

Nevertheless, it is apparent that the government should encourage people to have healthy lifestyles since people’s unhealthy habits cause the government to spend large amounts of their budgets on curing people in the long run. People who have unhealthy lifestyles are more likely to get serious diseases. Furthermore, the costs of offering their treatment usually come out of the government since the government is responsible for making its citizens happy and healthy. For instance, in Mexico, with unhealthy diets of consuming too much sugar, the number of cases of people who have serious health problems has been increasing, such as obesity and diabetes. As a result, the government has devoted more than 40% of the budget to national health care services.

To sum up, while it is apparent that there is concern that the government can infringe on people’s freedom to have their own lifestyles, it is undeniable that the government’s involvement in citizens’ lifestyles will lead to not only an improvement in people’s overall health but also a reduction in the amount of money should be spent for health treatment.