Diet and Exercise

A healthy diest has the right balance of food types.
Carbohydrates, fats and proteins are used by the body to realease energy and build cells.
Mineral ions and vitamins are needed for the body to keep healthy.
If the diet is unbalanced, a person will become malnourished.
If you exercise, the body uses more energy. Exercise increases the metabolic rate, so chemical reactions in cells work faster.
The proportion of body fat and inherited factors can also affect the metabolic rate.

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Weight Problems

It is important to get the energy balance correct for good health.
If the energy you take in equals the energy that you use then your mass will stay the same. Eating too much can often lead to becoming overweight or obese.
Long-term obesity can lead to othe health issues such as type 2 diabetes (high blood sugar).
This kind of problem can be reduced by eating less carbohydrates and doing more exercise.
It is also possible to become unhealthy by eating too little food. It may become hard to walk and people who eat too little may suffer from deficiency disease due to a lack of vitamins or minerals.

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Your metabolice rate can be affected by the genes that you inherit from your parents.
There are two types of cholesterol.
You need 'good' cholesterol for your cell membranes, and to make vital substances.
A small number of people inherit 'bad' cholesterol, which can lead to heart disease.
Foods rich in saturated fat can also increase blood cholesterol levels.
By exercising regularly, you can increase your metabolic rate and lower high cholesterol levels.

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