NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 3 Activity 3.2: Let us list — How Can We Stay Healthy?

Book page 30 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

List some good habits that your parents, teachers, or elders often encourage you to follow. How many of these are already a part of your daily routine? Which ones would you like to start following? Add to the list below: Keep yourself clean by maintaining personal hygiene. Eat a healthy and balanced diet. Exercise regularly. Make time to relax or meditate every day.

Answer

Start from the four habits already printed in the book, then add your own. Against each one, mark honestly whether it is already in your routine or one you want to start.

Sample answer — the list extended:

Good habit	Why elders insist on it	Already / To start
Keep yourself clean by maintaining personal hygiene	Washing hands with soap removes pathogens before they reach the mouth	Already
Eat a healthy and balanced diet	Supplies every nutrient; prevents deficiency diseases and lifestyle diseases	Already
Exercise regularly	Keeps the heart and muscles strong and helps sleep	To start
Make time to relax or meditate every day	Reduces stress; the board on page 28 notes yoga reduces anxiety and increases concentration	To start
Drink safe, boiled or filtered water	Prevents cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A	Already
Sleep and wake at the same time every day	The body repairs itself during sleep	To start
Eat breakfast before leaving for school	Supplies energy for the morning; prevents tiredness in class	Already
Cover the mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing	Stops airborne diseases reaching classmates	Already
Play outdoors for at least an hour	Exercise plus sunlight plus company — all three aspects of health at once	To start
Keep the classroom and home surroundings clean	Denies flies and mosquitos a place to breed	Already

Try this: pick just one habit from your “to start” column and follow it for two weeks before adding the next. A habit kept is worth more than a long list written.

Q2.

Now, think about habits that are not good for your health. Add more to the list below: Spending too much time on mobile phones or other digital screens. Eating fast food and other junk food every day. Sleeping very late or not getting enough sleep. Skipping meals, especially breakfast.

Answer

Sample answer — the four printed habits, with more added and the reason for each:

Habit that is not good for health	What it does
Spending too much time on mobile phones or other digital screens	Linked to obesity, sleep disorders, anxiety and dry eye disease; takes away time for play and company
Eating fast food and other junk food every day	High in oil, sugar and salt, low in the nutrients the body needs; the notice board names fast food as a leading cause of diabetes
Sleeping very late or not getting enough sleep	The body and mind do not get time to rest and recover; concentration and mood suffer next day
Skipping meals, especially breakfast	Leaves the body without energy for the morning; often leads to over-eating later
Drinking sugary cold drinks instead of water	Adds a large amount of sugar with no other nutrient
Not washing hands before eating	Carries pathogens straight from hands to mouth — the route for typhoid, cholera and roundworm
Sharing towels, handkerchiefs or a water bottle	Indirect contact — one of the ways communicable diseases spread
Sitting for hours without moving	Lack of physical activity is one of the reasons the chapter gives for diabetes
Leaving water standing in pots, coolers and old tyres	Gives mosquitos a place to breed, bringing malaria and dengue home
Taking medicines, especially antibiotics, without a doctor’s advice	Breeds antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Section 3.5.1)

Why it happens: notice that these habits do not make you ill the same day. They act slowly, which is exactly what makes them easy to ignore and hard to reverse.

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