1. Warm Up What factors do you think affect your health? Think about a few possible factors and be ready to share with the group.

2. What Affects Your Health? Lessons 3 & 4

3. 1. Your Heredity  Many factors affect your health and wellness.  You have control over some of these factors, but not all.  Cannot control the color of your skin or eyes.  Cannot control the shape of your nose or your ears. Heredity = the passing of traits from parents to their biological children. Heredity controls these traits above and other physical traits. Genes are the basic units of heredity…made from DNA. (half from your father, half from your mother)

4. 1. Your Heredity  Genes do more than determine traits (hair color, eye color, etc.)…they control how every cell in your body works.  Genes can affect your health in ways that you cannot control. *Some genes can cause disease. It helps to be aware that you might have inherited genes that could increase your risk of developing a certain disease. That way, you can make better decisions about your health. Example:  If you have a family history of heart disease, you can choose to eat a low- fat diet and exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy.

5. 2. Your Environment  Think about where you live. Do you live in a city? A suburb? A small town? The country?  Where you live is the physical part of your environment. Environment = all living and nonliving things around you. There are two main Factors of Your Environment. Do you know what they are?

6. Physical Environment Social Environment  Your social environment includes others in your life, such as friends, classmates, neighbors, brothers, sisters, other family members.  It also includes services available to you, like schools, health care, and recreation (parks, playgrounds, tennis and basketball courts, etc.)

7. 3. Risk and Risk Behaviors A Risk: the chance that something harmful may happen to your health and wellness.  Some risks are easy to identify. (Riding a bike without a helmet = head injury if you fall)  Other risks are more hidden. (You might have a habit of snacking on high fat foods = may lead to unhealthy weight gain and heart disease later in life) You cannot avoid every kind of risk (playing sports could result in injury). But, risks that can be avoided often involve risk behaviors = actions or choices that may harm you or others. (Examples: smoking cigarettes, riding in a car without wearing a safety belt.)

8. 4. Risks and Consequences Risk behaviors have consequences! Consequences = the results of actions. Some risks have consequences that may not be physically dangerous and may affect only you. (Not studying for a test could result in a low test grade.) Other risks can have serious consequences.

9. 5. Teens and Risks  Most teens know ways in which to reduce risks related to the health problems of adolescence. What positive health behaviors do you practice to stay healthy? Figure 1.5 (Page 25 in book) Wear safety belts = 80% Will not use illegal drugs in their lifetime = 80% Participate in an organized team or sports club after school = 59% Have never used tobacco = 63% Don’t use alcohol = 80-90%

10. 6. How Risks Add Up  On it’s own, a risk may not seem that dangerous. The greater number of risks, however, the greater chances of negative consequences.  Examples:  Jogging on a busy street = risk  Jogging on a busy street at night = bigger risk  Jogging on a busy street at night during a rainstorm = even bigger risk OR  Eating a diet full of high-fat food = risk  Not getting regular exercise = risk  Both of these actions together greatly increase a person’s chances of developing heart disease. Cumulative Risk = when one risk factor adds to another to increase danger.

11. 7. How to Avoid or Reduce Risks Prevention = taking steps to avoid something. Tips for reducing risk: 1. Plan ahead 2. Think about consequences 3. Resist negative pressure from others 4. Stay away from risk takers 5. Pay attention to what you are doing 6. Know your limits 7. Be aware of dangers