Health and disease

• Health

  A state of both physical and mental well-being
• We don't see ourselves as either healthy or unhealthy, instead we exist on a spectrum with some people being either more or less healthier than others in certain ways
• Factors for good health

  • A well-balanced diet
  • Getting enough exercise
  • Getting enough sleep
  • Having access to medical care
  • Preventive medicines like vaccines
• Factors for poor health

  • Lack of the factors for good health
  • Too much stress
• Disease

  A large group of conditions that can cause ill health
• Types of diseases


  • Communicable diseases (infectious diseases)
  • Non-communicable diseases
• Communicable diseases

  Diseases that can spread from person to person or between animals and people, caused by things like viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi
• Communicable diseases

  • The common cold
  • Malaria
  • Meningitis
• Non-communicable diseases

  Diseases that can't be spread between different people, generally start more slowly and last a long time, some never going away
• Problems with the immune system

  Inability to defend against communicable diseases, leading to more frequent infections
• Some viruses

  Can cause certain cancers, e.g. HPV and cervical cancer
• The body's own immune system

  Can overreact to a pathogen, damaging the body's own tissues, e.g. skin rashes and asthma
• Severe physical health problems

  Can have a big impact on mental health, e.g. causing depression or chronic anxiety