Diet and Exercise

1. Diet and Exercise L.O: -explain why we need a healthy diet -describe what is meant by metabolic rate -explain how inherited factors affect our health

2. You are what you eat …… A balanced diet contains the right amounts of all the nutrients needed by our body. Our body needs 6 main nutrients: Carbohydrates and fatsprovide energy you need to stay alive. Proteinsare used in growth and repair of damaged cells and tissues. Vitamins and mineralsare needed for a healthy growth Water is needed to carry out most of the chemical reactions in our body. • If you eat too little of these nutrients you become malnourished. You will become weak and your muscles may waste away. Malnourishment may also cause irregular periods in women. • Deficiency diseases can occur if our body does not get enough of a certain vitamin or mineral.

3. Metabolism Metabolic rate is the rate at which chemical reactions take place in your body. The higher your metabolic rate the more energy you use. Metabolic rate depends on several factors: • Proportion of muscle to fat ratio (men have more muscles than women so they have a higher metabolic rate) • The more exercise you do the higher is your metabolic rate • Inherited factors • Your age (young teenagers have a higher metabolic rate than older people because they need more energy for growth) • Your lifestyle

4. Blood cholesterol level Cholesterol is a fatty substance transported by the blood. It is needed to make cell membranes and hormones in our body. Each person’s blood cholesterol depends on two factors: • The amount of fat in his diet • Inherited factors High Blood Cholesterol can lead to Heart diseases and blocking of blood vesselsbecause too much cholesterol forms a clog in the blood vessels, which means our heart has to work harder to pump blood.