question_answer 46)

  Explain giving reasons (a) Balanced diet is necessary for maintaining healthy body. (b) Health of an organism depends upon the surrounding environmental conditions. (c) Our surrounding area should be free of stagnant water. (d) Social harmony and good economic conditions are necessary for good health.

Answer:

  (a) A balanced diet is the first and foremost condition necessary for good health. A balanced diet provides all the nutrients e.g., proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals required by the body in correct proportions. When our diet lacks one or more of these nutrients, we get deficiency diseases or nutritional disorders. Excessive or inadequate intake of food and nutrients leads to condition such as obesity, kwarshikor and rickets. If our diet, lacks the mineral iron, we may get a disease called anaemia. Abnormal intake of nutrients and minerals such as vitamin-A which causes hypervitaminosis-A and calcium which causes rickets. A balanced diet prevents deficiency diseases. It also increases our ability to fight against infections in general. (b) Our health depends on the cleanliness of our surroundings. Flies and mosquitoes carry germs that cause diseases, Flies breed in rotting garbage and mosquitoes breed in pools of stagnant water. So, people fall ill quite often if the area in which they live or work has uncleanecl garbage, pools of stagnant water or open drains. Clean air is also a part of our surrounding and a basic requirement for good health. (c) So, people fall ill quite often if the area in which they live or work has uncleanecl garbage, pools of stagnant water or open drains. Clean air is also a part of our surrounding and a basic requirement for good health. (d) Human beings live in societies. Our social environment therefore plays an important part in our individual health. We live in villages, town or cities, our physical environment is decided by our social environment. e.g., if there is not agency to ensure that garbage is collected and disposed and no one takes responsibility for cleaning the drains, to ensure that waste water does not get collected in the streets or open spaces, there will be heaps of garbage and trash littered here and there, will be open drain water lying stagnant around where we live. Therefore, the possibility of poor health will increase. So, public cleanliness is also and important contribution to an individual's health.