Definition of benefit - What it is, Meaning and Concept

From the Latin beneficium , a benefit is a good that is made or received. The term is also used as a synonym of utility or advantage . For example: "This bank offers me more benefits when opening an account" , "Our company provides great benefits to the most loyal customers" , "With the purchase of the television, I accessed several benefits in the store" .

The concept is often used to name the economic gain obtained from a commercial activity or an investment . The benefit, therefore, is the profit obtained by an actor from an economic process and calculated as total revenues minus total costs . If a person buys goods for $ 200 and then resells them for $ 500, he gets a profit of $ 300.

To calculate the benefit, it is important to take into account all the factors that affect the economic process, including operating expenses, social charges, etc. Never forget that the benefits are not directly related to income : a company can have low income and high profits, or vice versa. It all depends on how the costs are managed.

The difference between the sale price of a product and the production costs is known as the profit margin . The cost-benefit analysis , on the other hand, is the evaluation that is carried out to know the profitability of a business.

The earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profits of a company among its total number of shares . The result allows knowing the benefit obtained by each shareholder in a determined period.

Benefits of vegetarianism

Although it can be considered a fashion for many people, vegetarianism is a healthier and more respectful way of living, and there are several reasons that support these ideas. The consumption of meat is strongly linked to tradition, but that does not indicate that it is necessary or ethically correct, as well as many other bloodthirsty customs that we have dragged for centuries.

From a selfish point of view, to be a vegetarian supposes diverse benefits for the own organism; for example, it decreases the consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol, and increases the intake of dietary fiber, vitamin C and E, potassium, folic acid, magnesium and more nutrients of vegetable origin. In other words, it improves our blood pressure and extends our life expectancy , protecting us from certain chronic diseases.

First, there are heart diseases; a vegetarian person is 25 percent less likely to die from a heart complication, thanks to the consumption of legumes and whole grains, which help stabilize the blood sugar level.

The risk of cancer is also lower because, according to the World Cancer Research Fund, eating red meat is partly responsible for the development of this deadly disease. On the other hand, vegetarianism also helps to reduce the chances of suffering from type two diabetes and to combat obesity, a disorder much more common in omnivores.

One of the most common arguments of the detractors of vegetarianism is that it leads to a significant lack of proteins; This, as has been proven on more than one occasion, is an unfounded observation, since there are many foods of vegetable origin that supply the nutrients generally associated with meat, among which are soy, cereals, fruits dry and legumes.

It is important to emphasize that to enjoy all the benefits of vegetarianism it is essential to have an adequate diet, for which it is necessary to learn and dare to experiment with the endless amount of ingredients that nature offers us. In this sense, many advise visiting a nutrition professional as a first step.