Health, Lifestyle and Drugs
Health is more than the absence of illness: it is physical and mental wellbeing. Diet, exercise, sleep, smoking, alcohol and other drugs all affect it. A balanced diet supplies carbohydrates for energy, proteins for growth and repair, lipids for energy storage and insulation, and small amounts of vitamins and minerals, plus fibre and water. Energy is measured in kilojoules, and taking in more energy than the body uses stores the excess as fat, while taking in less causes mass loss. A drug is a substance that changes the way the body works. Recreational drugs are taken by choice, medicinal drugs treat illness, and many drugs are addictive, meaning the user develops a physical or psychological need for them. Tobacco smoke damages the gas exchange system: tar coats the alveoli and paralyses the cilia, carbon monoxide reduces the oxygen the blood can carry, and nicotine is the addictive part. Alcohol is a depressant that slows reaction times and, over years, damages the liver.
Method
- For diet questions, name the food group, its use in the body and a food that contains it. Marks are usually split across those three things.
- Treat energy balance as a comparison: energy taken in against energy used. Say which is larger and then say what happens to the difference.
- When you are given a table of nutrients or energy values, quote the numbers in your answer. An answer that says one diet is healthier without using the data will not gain the data mark.
- For smoking questions, match each named chemical to its own effect: tar to the alveoli and cilia, carbon monoxide to oxygen transport, nicotine to addiction. Do not blur them together as damage to the lungs.
- Link a physical effect to a consequence the person would notice, for example fewer working alveoli means a smaller surface area for gas exchange, which means breathlessness when exercising.
- In evaluation questions about lifestyle choices, give a benefit, a risk and a short judgement rather than a list of facts.
Worked example
A 45 year old man takes in 12000 kJ of energy a day and uses 9500 kJ a day. He smokes 15 cigarettes a day. Describe what will happen to his body mass and explain two ways smoking will affect his gas exchange system.
- Compare the two energy figures: 12000 kJ in against 9500 kJ used.
- Find the difference: 12000 - 9500 = 2500 kJ of surplus energy each day.
- State the consequence: the surplus is stored as fat, so his body mass will increase.
- First smoking effect: tar settles in the alveoli and paralyses the cilia that sweep mucus out of the airways, so mucus and trapped bacteria build up and infections become more likely.
- Second smoking effect: tar and the chemicals in smoke break down the alveoli walls, which reduces the surface area available for gas exchange, so less oxygen diffuses into the blood and he becomes breathless during exercise.
- You could add that carbon monoxide binds to haemoglobin in place of oxygen, so the blood carries less oxygen even when the lungs are working.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1Name the food group used mainly for growth and repair, and give one food rich in it.Show answer
Answer: Protein. Any of meat, fish, eggs, beans, lentils, nuts or dairy.
Q2Explain why fibre is included in a balanced diet even though the body cannot digest it.Show answer
Answer: Fibre adds bulk to the food in the intestines, which the muscles can grip during peristalsis. This keeps food moving and prevents constipation.
Q3A student takes in 8000 kJ a day and uses 10500 kJ a day. Calculate the daily energy deficit and state the effect on body mass.Show answer
Answer: 10500 - 8000 = 2500 kJ deficit. The body uses stored fat to make up the difference, so body mass falls.
Q4State which chemical in tobacco smoke causes addiction, and which reduces the amount of oxygen the blood can carry.Show answer
Answer: Nicotine causes addiction. Carbon monoxide reduces oxygen transport because it binds to haemoglobin more strongly than oxygen does.
Q5Explain why a smoker with damaged alveoli becomes breathless when climbing stairs.Show answer
Answer: Damaged alveoli give a smaller surface area for gas exchange, so less oxygen diffuses into the blood. Climbing stairs increases the demand for oxygen for respiration in the muscles, so the body raises the breathing rate to try to compensate, which the person feels as breathlessness.
Q6Alcohol is described as a depressant. State what this means and give one short-term effect.Show answer
Answer: A depressant slows down the nervous system. Short-term effects include slower reaction times, blurred vision, poor judgement or loss of balance.
Q7Give one reason why regular exercise improves health, other than helping to control body mass.Show answer
Answer: Any one of: it strengthens the heart muscle so more blood is pumped per beat; it increases muscle strength; it improves mental wellbeing; it helps keep joints mobile.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a KS3 Science exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
The table shows the energy content of two lunches. Lunch A: 3200 kJ, 15 g protein, 2 g fibre. Lunch B: 2100 kJ, 22 g protein, 9 g fibre. A 14 year old needs about 9000 kJ per day. (a) Calculate what percentage of the daily energy need Lunch A provides. (b) Using the data, explain which lunch is the healthier choice.
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A health campaign claims that stopping smoking is the single most useful change a person can make to their health. Evaluate this claim, using what you know about the effects of tobacco smoke and about other lifestyle factors.
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Free printable worksheet
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