GCSE Biology Revision "Lifestyle and Disease"

[0:09]Hi and welcome back to freesciencelessons.co.uk. By the end of this video, you should be able to describe how your lifestyle can affect your risk of developing a non-communicable disease. Remember that non-communicable diseases cannot be passed from person to person. They are not caused by pathogens. Good examples include cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and most types of cancer. Non-communicable diseases are the biggest cause of death in the UK, massively outweighing infectious diseases. So in this video, we're going to explore the risk factors for non-communicable diseases. Let's start with cardiovascular diseases, and remember that this includes coronary heart disease. Now these diseases account for over a quarter of all deaths in the UK. Diet is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease. A diet high in fat and low in vegetables increases the levels of certain types of cholesterol in the blood. And this increases the rate that fatty materials build up in the arteries. Secondly, a diet high in salt can increase blood pressure, increasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. The risk of developing cardiovascular diseases is also massively increased in people who smoke. But the risk is decreased in people who exercise regularly. Now, as we said before, smoking increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. It also massively increases the risk of lung cancer, which is the single greatest cause of death by cancer in the UK. That's because cigarette smoke contains a number of chemicals which can trigger cancer. These are called carcinogens. Smoking also increases the risk of other lung diseases, such as emphysema. These diseases are extremely unpleasant and lead to a very poor quality of life. Now, smoking when pregnant can harm an unborn baby. This increases the risk of miscarriage and premature birth. It can also lead to the baby being born with a low body-mass. Another lifestyle factor that can harm an unborn baby is drinking alcohol. This can cause a condition fetal alcohol syndrome. Children born with fetal alcohol syndrome can have learning difficulties and other mental or physical problems. So to summarize, pregnant women are advised not to smoke at all or drink any alcohol. Both of these harm the unborn baby. Now, adults who drink alcohol excessively also increase the risk of certain diseases. These include liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. Alcohol can also affect the brain, leading to addiction and memory loss. Okay, now one condition which is rapidly increasing in the UK is type 2 diabetes. People with this condition struggle to control their blood glucose levels. Type 2 diabetes is a very serious condition which can lead to blindness or require the amputation of a limb. Now a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes is obesity. Obese people have a much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. One important point is that risk factors can interact. So for example, drinking excess alcohol can lead to obesity and then that increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. Now I should point out that some risk factors are not linked to lifestyle. These include substances present in your environment. A good example of that is radon. Radon is a radioactive gas which increases your risk of developing lung cancer, and we find radon in certain parts of the UK. We looked at radon in the video on cancer. Remember you'll find plenty of questions on how lifestyle factors can lead to non-communicable diseases in my vision workbook, and you can get that by clicking on the link above. Okay, so hopefully now you should be able to describe how your lifestyle can affect your risk of developing a non-communicable disease.