Risk Factors for Non-Communicable Diseases

• What is a risk factor?

  A factor which increases the risk of getting a disease
• What two types of risk factors can cause disease?

  • Lifestyle
  • Exposure to substances
• What are 5 examples of risk factors that can directly cause disease?

  • Smoking
  • Obesity
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Smoking while pregnant
  • Exposure to substances or radiation
• What is a substance that has a risk of causing cancer called?

  A carcinogen
• What can drinking too much alcohol cause?

  Liver disease or brain damage
• How does drinking alcohol damage the brain?

  Nerve cells are damaged, causing the brain to lose volume
• How can smoking cause disease?

  It damages the walls of arteries and cells in the lining of the lungs
• What diseases can be caused by smoking?

  Cardiovascular disease, lung disease and lung cancer
• What disease can obesity cause?

  Type 2 diabetes
• How does obesity cause type 2 diabetes?

  It makes the body less sensitive or resistant to insulin, meaning it cannot control the concentration of glucose in blood