NCERT Solutions Curiosity Chapter 3 Activity 3.5: Let us survey — How are non-communicable diseases caused?

Book page 36 Updated on2026-09-05

Q1.

Find out the three most common lifestyle-related diseases in your neighbourhood. Talk to a doctor, nurse, health worker or even a family member who knows about health and what kind of lifestyle changes can help prevent or manage these diseases.

Answer

How to do the survey. Prepare three questions before you go: Which lifestyle-related diseases do you see most often here? At what age do they usually begin? What change do you advise first? Speak to a doctor, nurse, ASHA or anganwadi worker at the nearest health centre, and to family members who manage such a condition. Note the answers without adding names — a person’s illness is private. Cross-check what you hear with a trusted health website or your science teacher.

Sample answer. In most Indian neighbourhoods the three named most often are:

Diabetes — the chapter records that India now has one of the highest numbers of people with diabetes in the world.
High blood pressure (hypertension).
Obesity — the notice board reports that 28.6% of Indians are obese.

Health workers usually give the same first advice for all three, because the three are closely linked: a balanced diet with less oil, sugar and salt; regular physical activity; enough sleep; no tobacco or alcohol; and a check-up at regular intervals so that the condition is caught early.

Why the same advice fits all three: these are not separate accidents. They grow out of the same combination of diet, activity level and stress, so a change in that combination acts on all of them at once.

Note: lifestyle is one cause among several — the chapter itself lists hormonal imbalances and “other reasons” alongside habits. Report what you find as a health matter, never as anyone’s fault.

Q2.

Fill in Table 3.2 and learn more about lifestyle-related diseases.

Answer

The printed entries are kept and the blanks filled in. Row 4 is left for a disease you find in your own survey — asthma is used here as a sample.

S. No.	Name of common lifestyle-related diseases	Signs and symptoms	Suggested lifestyle change(s)
1.	Obesity	Body weight well above the healthy range for one’s height and age; getting breathless or tired quickly during activity; pain in the knees and joints; snoring and disturbed sleep	Eating a balanced diet and exercising regularly
2.	Diabetes	Frequent urination; excessive thirst; weight loss; tiredness; slow healing	A balanced diet with less sugar and less processed food; regular physical activity; enough sleep; keeping body weight in a healthy range; blood sugar checked as the doctor advises
3.	High blood pressure	Often no symptom at all — it is found only when blood pressure is measured; sometimes headache, giddiness or breathlessness	Less salt and less oily or processed food; regular exercise; managing stress through relaxation or yoga; enough sleep; no tobacco or alcohol; blood pressure measured at regular intervals
4.	Asthma (sample)	Wheezing, repeated coughing, tightness in the chest, difficulty in breathing — often worse in dust, smoke or cold air	Staying away from smoke and dust; keeping the home free of dust; checking the AQI before outdoor exercise; breathing exercises such as pranayama; carrying the medicine the doctor has prescribed

Why high blood pressure is the dangerous one: it usually gives no symptom, so it is discovered only if someone measures it. A disease with no symptom is not a mild disease — it is one that goes untreated. This is exactly why the chapter ends by saying that early diagnosis and continuous care are key.

Note: obesity is a health condition, like the other three in this table. The chapter itself explains that such conditions develop from a combination of causes — diet, physical activity, hormonal imbalances and others — so it is described here, not judged.

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