A Weighty Issue Ielts Reading Answers Jun 2026
Answer: The health risks associated with obesity include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
The IELTS Reading subtest is famous for its dense, academic passages that challenge even the most fluent English speakers. One frequently encountered passage in practice materials and past papers is which explores the global obesity epidemic, its socio-economic causes, and potential public health solutions.
Review the text below and match the explanations to your specific practice test layout. 🔑 "A Weighty Issue" Answer Key & Explanations Part 1: Information Location (Paragraph Matching)
| Question | Answer | | :--- | :--- | | 1. The increase in obesity is solely due to genetic factors. | (The passage states genetics play a role but emphasizes environmental and behavioral changes.) | | 2. Fast food consumption has risen in parallel with obesity rates. | True (The text provides correlational data linking the rise of fast food outlets to growing waistlines.) | | 3. The author proposes a single solution to solve the obesity crisis. | Not Given (The author reviews many solutions—taxes, education, urban planning—but never claims one is the only solution.) | | 4. Low-income families spend a higher percentage of their income on sugar-sweetened beverages. | True (Look for a sentence comparing expenditure patterns across income brackets.) |
Do not spend more than 20 minutes on this passage. If you get stuck on a question, move on and come back to it later. A Weighty Issue Ielts Reading Answers
Paragraph A (or the section on evolutionary biology and the "thrifty gene").
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... modern humans consume an excess of caloric / processed foods.
If a question asks for a or remedy , skip straight to the final paragraphs where recommendations, laws, and expert proposals are naturally aggregated. 2. Differentiate "False" from "Not Given" This is where most students lose marks in IELTS Reading. Answer: The health risks associated with obesity include
Consume (Some people are programmed to consume more than others.)
The IELTS Reading test frequently features academic articles on health, sociology, and science. One notable passage that appears in practice materials and past tests is which explores the global epidemic of obesity, its socioeconomic causes, and potential solutions.
Spend exactly 60 seconds reading the title, subtitle, and the first sentence of each paragraph. This creates a mental map of the text. When a question asks about "financial factors," your brain will instantly flash back to the paragraph you noted during your initial skim. 2. Target the Keywords, but Understand the Meaning
Polar bears are able to control their levels of 'bad' cholesterol by genetic means. Answer: TRUE Review the text below and match the explanations
While genetics can create a predisposition for obesity, the passage emphasizes that environmental factors—such as sedentary lifestyles and the accessibility of high-calorie foods—play a major role in the current epidemic. Answer Key for "A Weighty Issue" Questions 1–8: Matching Headings
To score well on this passage, ensure you understand these terms and their synonyms used in the text:
"For more than a century, the IPK had been treated as the perfect standard. However, when the IPK was compared with its official copies in 2007, a disturbing fact emerged. The IPK was found to be 50 micrograms lighter than the average of the copies. No one knows why. It could be due to surface contamination, loss of gas from the alloy, or a mysterious quantum effect."
For mathematical equations or formulas that might appear in IELTS reading, use $$ syntax: $$ y = 2x $$ $$ E = mc^2 $$ But there are no equations here for now.
