Lesson 11

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Transcript of Lesson 11

Page 1: Lesson 11

11Concept of Health

11.1 Introduction

You must have heard your mother, your grandparents, in fact, most elders, say-ing that if you want to remain healthy, you must follow certain rules. There arecertain things you are asked to do everyday like brushing your teeth, having abath, eating good and nutritious food at regular times, sleeping early and gettingup early and doing regular exercise, etc. Have you ever asked yourself why youare told to do all the these things? What will happen if you do not bathe daily?What will happen if you sleep late every day? What will happen to your body ifyou do not take nutritious food? Can you imagine what your body will startlooking like if you just kept on eating and do nothing?

How can you find out whether you are healthy or not? What are the signs youwould look for? These are some of the questions that will be answered in thislesson.

11.2 Objectives

After reading this lesson, you will be able to the following:

define ‘health’;

describe the physical, mental and social aspects of health;

list the indices of good health;

explain the importance of health;

relate prevailing conditions to their consequences.

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11.3 Concept of Health

There are a number of things you want to do, but there are times when you findthat you are not well enough to do all that you want to do. Even on a regularmorning, when every member of the house is getting ready, there is so much todo - someone wants breakfast, your sister wants her shirt to be ironed, your littlebrother realizes that his shoes are not polished. Your mother is trying to cope upwith everything. You want to share some responsibilities with your mother, butyou do not have enough energy to do so, because your body is so weak that it cannot take extra stress. This shows that your body can function effectively onlywhen it is healthy.

Definition of health

You may say ‘health’ is the absence of disease. According to the World HealthOrganization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease.”

Can you now list the signs of good health? Also, can you tell why this listing isnecessary? Yes, you are right. If you know the signs of good health, you canrecognize a healthy person, or know if you yourself are in a state of health. Let usstudy the signs in detail now.

11.4 Signs of Good Health

To look for signs of good health, we must examine all the three aspects-physical,mental and social.

A. Physical health

A person who enjoys good physical health is one who -is energetichas good postureweighs normal for age and heighthas all body organs functioning normallyhas a clear and clean skinhas bright eyeshas good textured and shining hairhas a clean breathhas a good appetitegets sound sleep

Physical

Mental

Social

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Physical health is easy to detect and describe. A person is physically healthyif he or she looks alert and responsive.

B. Social heath

A person with good social health -

gets along well with people around

has pleasant manners

helps others

fulfills responsibility towards others

A person is socially healthy if he or she can move in the society confidentlywith others.

C. Mental health

Mental health implies -

control on emotions

sensitive to the needs of others

confidence in one’s own abilities

freedom from unnecessary tensions, anxieties and worries

A person is mentally healthy if he or she is relaxed and free from any wor-ries

PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND MENTAL HEALTH ARE INTER RELATED

You would be surprised to note that all three aspects of health are related. Haveyou noticed that when your brother has been through an illness, he becomesirritable? He loses his temper much faster than in his healthy days. Why? Helacks in physical energy and gets frustrated when he can’t do things that he wants

Physicalhealth

Socialhealth

Mentalhealth

Aspects ofGoodhealth

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to do. Hence he gets angry, cries, shouts, screams and fights. Have you heard ofcases where people develop high blood pressure because they worry too much ordevelop ulcers in the stomach because they are tens all the time?

Hence, you can see that a change in any one aspect of health, that is social ormental or physical, has an effect on the other aspects also. All the three aspectsare inter–related and to be called healthy, one must have good health in all thethree aspects.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.1

1. Choose the correct alternative:(i) A person is healthy if he is -

(a) Physically and mentally healthy(b) Mentally and socially healthy(c) Physically and socially healthy(d) Physically, mentally and socially healthy.

(ii) A mentally healthy person has -(a) Confidence(b) Energy(c) Pleasant manners(c) Good appetite

2. State whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F)(a) Health means absence of disease(b) A physically healthy person has well functioning organs in the body.(c) Freedom from tension implies good mental health.(d) If a person helps others it is a sign of social health.

3. State four characteristics of a person enjoying ‘Good health’.

11.5 Factors Affecting Health

In the beginning of the lesson, we talked of a few things which your elders askyou to do everyday. Do you remember what they are?

These are some of the things which affect your health. If you do them you remainhealthy.

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Let us now study all the factors which can affect our health -

(1) Personal hygiene

(2) Exercise.

(3) Rest and sleep

(4) Posture

(5) Clean home environment

(6) Our eating habits

(7) Climate and clothing

(8) Safety measures at play and work

(9) Influence of smoking, alcohol and drugs

Let us now examine some of these in detail.

11.6 Personal Hygiene

Personal hygiene means keeping oneself clean. There are some activities youperform everyday in order to keep yourself clean. Can you list these?

Yes, some of these are going to the toilet, cleaning your teeth, having a bath,cleaning your eyes, washing your hands before and after eating, wearing cleanclothes, combing your hair, etc. You must realise that all these are the rules ofpersonal hygiene.

1. Regular use of the toilet: Why does your mother insist that you go to thetoilet every morning? Because a regular bowel movement keeps your bodyfree from waste matter.

You probably have a toilet at home. But there are many people who do not haveit. They have to go out to the fields to defecate. Here are some things you mustremember when using the toilet.

(a) Always wear shoes- Wearing shoes when going to the toilet is necessarybecause germs and dirt will not stick to your feet and make you ill.

(b) Use clean water in a clean mug- Always use clean water in a clean mug towash yourself after going to the toilet. Dirty water carries germs and is harm-ful for you.

Can you say what will happen if you carry clean water in a dirty mug? The waterwill also become dirty. So, make sure to use clean water in a clean mug. If youscrub your mug everyday with a cleaning powder it will stay clean.

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(c) Wash hands after toilet- Make sure to wash your hands with soap and notmud after going to the toilet. Why is this necessary? This is necessary be-cause the dirt and germs on your hands must be removed. While washinghands see that your nails are also cleaned. Imagine what will happen if youeat food with these dirty hands!

Why should you not use mud to wash your hands? Because mud may contain dirtand germs which can cause disease.

2. Washing hands before eating: When you eat with dirty hands, you also eatthe dirt. This dirt is full of germs which can cause diseases. This is why, yourmother always asks you to wash your hands with soap and water before youeat anything.

3. Bathing regularly: ‘Bathing’ does not mean that you simply pour water onyour body. Taking a good bath means that you should thoroughly apply soapon the entire body. Also after taking a proper bath, it is very important thatyou use a clean towel to dry your skin. Otherwise, your skin would againbecome dirty if you do not use a neat and clean towel to wipe your body.

Examine your skin carefully. Can you see very small holes in your skin?These are called ‘pores’ and your skin breathes through these pores. Whendirt collects on the skin, these pores get blocked. Germs attack, and the resultis pimples and boils. Hence, to avoid all these diseases and skin infections, itis necessary for you to have bath regularly, and keep your skin clean in sum-mer as well as in winter.

4. Brushing your teeth: Have you ever stood near a person with bad breath?Don’t you feel like turning your face away? What do you think causes badbreath in a person? Bad breath is caused due to unclean teeth. When teeth arenot brushed regularly, small bits and pieces of food stick to them. Germs likebacteria come and attack this food and the teeth at the same time. Soon theteeth lose their shine, become yellow and the breath begins to smell.

Do you understand now why it is important for you to brush your teeth regu-larly? You must remember that for brushing you should use a proper brushwhich is soft and do not hurt your teeth and gums.

For proper care of teeth, it is very important that after every meal, you mustwash your mouth with plain water. This would prevent decaying of teeth thatis, your teeth would remain healthy.

Sweet foods are more harmful than salty foods. This is why your mothertells you not to eat too many things like sweets, chocolates, ice creams, past-ries, etc. Drinking plenty of milk helps in making your teeth strong and healthy.

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5. Washing hair, cleaning eyes, ears, nails: Have you noticed what happensto your hair when you don’t comb them for a day? There are tangles in themand combing is difficult. If you don’t wash them for a few days, your hairbecomes dirty and dull. It may also get infested with lice. To avoid all this,you should comb your hair daily and wash them frequently to keep themshining and smooth.

What happens when you don’t wash your eyes? Dirt collects in the corners andmakes them sticky. Flies come and sit on this dirt and cause infection. This infec-tion makes you rub your eyes which causes redness. Wash your eyes regularlywith clean, cold water and keep them shining and clear.

Your ears become blocked with a yellow wax which must be removed. Blockingcan cause deafness, hence, wax must be removed. Be careful in removing wax.Never use pointed pins to remove it. Your ear drum may be hurt. Do not put anyoil without consulting the doctor.

Long nails gather a lot of dirt under them. Have you seen how dirty your nailslook when dirt has collected under them? This dirt can have germs and can enteryour stomach along with your food. You know that the germs can then make youill. Therefore, what should you do? You should keep your nails short and clean.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.2

Complete the sentence with the correct word:

1. Skin should be kept ……………………..(a) Wet(b) Soft(c) Dry(d) Clean

2. To keep teeth healthy and clean, brush them…………..(a) in the morning(b) at night(c) morning and evening(d) after each meal

3. To keep your teeth strong and healthy………………….(a) eat chocolates(b) eat ice cream(c) drink lot of milk(d) drink water

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ACTIVITY

Select ten children in your neighbourhood. Observe their nails, teeth, hands,hair, clothes, shoes, etc., and find out how many of them are clean. Recordthis information in the format given.

Name Nails Teeth Dress Hair Clothes ShoesCut clean washed clean washed polished

1.Ritesh √ √ √ √ √ √

11.7 EXERCISE

Suppose you decide to clean your kitchen and store on the same day. How do youfeel after doing all the heavy work? You feel very tired, your whole body andspecially your arms ache and pain.

Why is this so? This is because you have used those muscles of your body whichyou generally do not use. These muscles are not used to exercise and, hence, startaching.

Exercise means making all the muscles of the body work so that they re-main fit and active.

In order to be beneficial, exercise must be -systematicregularadequate, that is, neigther not too little, nor too much.

It is important to remember that sick and weak people should not do strenuousexercises which may make them sick.

You already know that extra fat is stored in the muscles of your body. Exercisehelps to remove this fat. Can you imagine how fat you will become if this fat isnot removed through regular exercise? During exercise, all the organs of thebody start functioning efficiently. Have you noticed how your legs start tinglingafter you come back from a walk? Do you also feel hungry after exercise?

Exercise makes you active physically and mentally, and ready for work.

Can you now say, why exercise is important for us? Yes, exercise is importantbecause it:

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helps to reduce body fatensures better digestion and respirationensures efficient blood supplyincreases mental alertnessadds to physical mobilitymakes one feel more energetic

What do you think is the best way to exercise? You can-

play any game you likego swimminggo walking or joggingdo yoga, etc.

You can choose any exercise, depending on your interest. Exercise can be doneeither in the morning or in the evening, depending on your convenience. Butremember the best time for exercising is early morning. Because this is the timewhen the air is fresh and free from pollution. When you breathe this air, you feelvery fresh throughout the day.

11.8 Rest and Sleep

Although regular exercise is essential for the upkeep of health, regular rest andsleep are equally necessary. This is for the tired muscles to relax.

Do you remember what happens after you wash a lot of clothes in a day? Yourarms start aching and you feel very tired. At that moment, you feel you cannot doany more work. But after sitting for some time, you feel fit and start doing some-thing else.

When you work, your body uses oxygen which gives you energy. When thisoxygen is used by the body, some waste products are produced which collect inthe muscles. Normally, these waste products are removed as soon as they areformed. But when you do heavy work, these waste products are formed fasterthan they are removed, so they start collecting in the muscles. As a result you feeltired. This tiredness is also known as “fatigue”.

‘Fatigue’ is the body’s inability to do further work or it is the body’sreduced capacity to do work.

When you sit down and rest, your body finds the time to clear this waste and yourmuscles become active once again. Similarly, sleep not only relieves your tiredmuscles but also your mind.

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Every one does not need the same amount of sleep. You have seen that smallchildren and babies sleep more than you or your parents do. A person who workshard the whole day, will also need to sleep more than one who does little workduring the day. Can you tell why?

11.9 Posture

Have you noticed that some people walk and sit with their back straight andsome others walk with their backs bent? Which do you think looks better? Thestraight back or the curved back? Yes, the straight back looks much better and isalso the correct way to walk and sit.

The manner in which one sits or walks is known as posture.

If you do not hold the body properly when standing or sitting, your posture isincorrect. If you stand or sit with your back bent, it will put extra pressure on theorgans of your abdomen and chest. You will also develop a curved spine whichwill result in backache. So you can see why maintaining a correct posture isimportant if you want to remain healthy?

Remember, correct posture is not only important while sitting, walking or stand-ing. It is equally important that while doing any household task, one must havegood posture. Do you know what is a correct posture?

‘Correct posture’ in doing any task may be defined as the position whichrequires the utilization of the smallest amount of energy.

For example, a correct standing posture is the one in which the head, neck, chest,and abdomen are balanced vertically one upon the other.

ACTIVITY

In your family, make a note of all the members who have improper posture whilesitting at a desk or while walking. Recommend to them the right way of main-taining good posture.

Work

Refreshed Tiredness

Rest and Sleep

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Name Relationship with you Activity Defect in Recommendation forObserved posture correcting posture

INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.3

Complete the sentence with the correct word:

1. Exercise makes you

(a) fat

(b) active

(c) efficient

(d) mobile

2. Exercise must be

(a) regular

(b) discontinous

(c) strenuous

(d) fatiguing

3. Rest enables tired muscles to

(a) sleep

(b) strain

(c) clear

(d) recover

4. Fill in the blanks:

(a) Fatigue is the body’s __________to do work.

(b) The manner in which one sits or walks is ______________.

(c) Correct posture is the one__________________.

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11.10 Clean Home Environment

A clean and healthy environment around you does a lot in keeping you in goodhealth. You have already learnt how to keep your environment clean in lesson10. It would be helpful to go back and read that lesson once again.

11.11 Our Eating Habits

The food we eat can affect our health in many ways. So it is very important toknow which foods to choose and why.

All of you know food is very important for us. Food is required:-

(a) provide energy in our body

(b) build muscles and bones

(c) protect the body from diseases

It you want to be healthy, you must eat proper food which is balanced and pro-vides you with all the nutrients. If you look around, you will find that manychildren are thin and small and may be very weak.

Do you know what would be the reason for this? All these may be due to the factthat:

(a) They do not eat the right kind of food

(b) They have poor eating habits

Apart from eating the right kind of food, it is important for you to develop goodeating habits. These are:

(1) Eating the right quantity of food

(2) Eating food at proper times

(3) Avoiding snacks between the meals

(4) Keeping a check on too much of fried or fast foods

(5) Eating more fruits and vegetables

(6) Avoiding sweets, chocolates, etc.

11.12 Climate and ClothingYou have already studied about clothes and the need for clothes in lesson 8. Ifyou like, you can go back and read it once again. You know that clothes are madeof various fabrics which are suitable for different types of climate.

It is very important for us to select the right kind of clothes to wear according to

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the climate, otherwise we will be uncomfortable and this may also affect ourhealth. For example, if one wears woolens in summer season, one will developrashes on the skin. Similarly, if one wears light, cotton clothes in winter, one maycatch a cold and suffer.

Similarly, if the clothes worn are not clean or according to the prevalent fashion,the wearer feels conscious. It generates a feeling of inadequacy or inferiority.This will affect the manner of working of that person.

The following tips can help you:

You can be comfortable by wearing cottons in summer and silk or woolensin winter.You will find synthetic or non-crushable fabrics more suitable for office orlong time wear.Festive occasions call for bright colours whereas hospital visits and funer-als call for softer shades.

Remember, even though you may not have many clothes, you can still be smartand well dressed if you keep your clothes clean and well pressed. You can alsomix and match your clothes to get different combinations.

11.13 Safety Measures at Play and Work

You know that safety has a direct influence on your health. If the environmentaround you is not safe, your health will immediately suffer. If floors are slipperyor stairs uneven, or the roof top has an unprotected edge, there may be accidents.You will study more about safety measures to be taken at home and the conse-quences of not observing safety measures in lesson 29 in this course.

We can say that in order to maintain a healthy life, one must take precautionsevery where - at home, in the play ground, on the roads, at work, etc.

11.14 Influence of Smoking, Alcohol and Drugs

SMOKING

Smoking is a habit. It does the most harm to your body, whether it comes frompipes, cigars or cigarettes. It is due to the harmful carbon monoxide and nicotine.They damage many different parts of the body. When people first smoke (breathethe smoke into their lungs), their eyes start watering and they may cough.

It is very important to break this habit. Continuous smoking become a cause forcancer of the lungs and mouth. It also makes a person prone to heart diseases andheart attack.

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ALCOHOL

Like smoking, drinking alcohol becomes a habit. Although young people startdrinking under peer pressure, they soon become addicted to it. Alcohol slowsdown working of the brain. As a result, the person becomes disoriented or con-fused. Excessive consumption of alcohol can delay responses. This is why peopleunder the influence of alcohol are not permitted to drive.

Alcohol consumption leads to hardening of arteries and may result in heart at-tacks. Thus, drinking is a habit everyone must avoid at all costs.

DRUGS

Drugs are the medicines used to cure illness, reduce pain and prevent the spreadof disease. Drugs have been used for thousands of years. There are many sourcesfrom which they are obtained–basically, they come from chemicals in the roots,leaves, seeds and juices of plants.

Drugs are beneficial to us when taken in the prescribed dosage only. When over-doses of certain drugs like cocaine, morphine, are taken, the person becomesaddicted to them. Over a period of time, this may prove fatal and the person maydie.

INTEXT QUESTIONS 11.4

1. If you want to be healthy, you must eat:

a) Fried food

b) Chocolates, in addition to food

c) Meals at regular timed) Meals at odd hours

2. Indicate the kind of clothes most suitable for wearing in-i) Summer __________ii) Winter ____________iii) Rainy season ___________iv) Weddings ______________

3. State two ill-effects that smoking can have on a person’s health.4. What can be the consequences when a person under the influence of alchol

drives a car?5. State one benefit of taking drugs.

6. What can happen to a person addicted to drug use?

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11.15 What You Have LearntIn order to make it easy for you to remember, here are the main points of thelesson:

Health Factors affecting health

Physical Mental Social – Personal hygiene– Exercise– Rest and sleep– Posture– Our Eating habits– Climate and clothing– Safety measures at play

and work– Influence of smoking, alcohol and drugs

11.16 Terminal Exercise

1. Define health and illustrate with examples how the three aspects of healthare inter–related.

2. Match the statements in column A with those in column B

Column A Column B(a) After toilet wash hands with (i) regularly(b) Brushing teeth gives you (ii) curved back(c) One should bathe (iii) exercise(d) Exercise keeps one (iv) healthy and shining teeth(e) Yoga is good way to (v) soap and water(f) Incorrect posture results in (vi) fit and active

(vii) once a week

11.17 Answers to Intext Questions

11.1 1. (i) (d) (ii) (a)2. (a) False.

(b) True(c) True

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(d) True3. – is energetic

– has a good apetite– gets sound sleep– has good posture

11.2 1. (d)2. (d)3. (c)

11.3 1. (b)2. (a)3. (d)4. (a) Inability

(b) Posture(c) Position requiring smallest amount of energy for any task.

11.4 1. (c)2. (i) cotton, light

(ii) woollen, silk, warm(iii) synthetic, drip dry(iv) brightly coloured

3. Cancer of lungs/mouth; heart diseases4. May cause an accident due to slower reflexes/responses5. Relief from pain, diseases6. Sickness, death