Health, fitness and well-being
What's covered
Key facts
Lifestyle choices
Chronic alcohol consumption harms sports performance by reducing reaction time, coordination and recovery, and by increasing dehydration.
Physical, emotional and social health, fitness and well-being
Regular physical activity benefits emotional health by releasing endorphins, reducing stress hormones and improving mood and self-esteem.
Lifestyle choices
BMI (Body Mass Index) is body mass in kilograms divided by height in metres squared (kg/m²).
Physical, emotional and social health, fitness and well-being
Carbohydrate (glucose/glycogen) is the body's preferred fuel for high-intensity exercise.
Lifestyle choices
A BMI of 30 or above is classified as obese in adults.
Physical, emotional and social health, fitness and well-being
Emotional (mental) health and well-being is the ability to manage emotions, cope with stress and maintain a positive state of mind.
Lifestyle choices
Carbohydrate loading is maximising muscle glycogen stores before an endurance event by increasing carbohydrate intake.
Physical, emotional and social health, fitness and well-being
A person can be physically fit but still have poor health (e.g. fit yet injured, stressed or socially isolated).
Lifestyle choices
Endurance athletes eat carbohydrate during a race to replenish glycogen and maintain blood glucose, delaying fatigue.
Physical, emotional and social health, fitness and well-being
Health is overall well-being, whereas fitness is the ability to meet the physical demands of the environment: they are not the same thing.
Practice questions with answers
A taste of the 21 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
How does a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of cardiovascular disease?
- ✓It allows plaque to build up in arteries, raising blood pressure
- •It increases red blood cell count excessively
- •It reduces the heart's ability to pump blood too fast
- •Sedentary lifestyle has no proven link to cardiovascular disease
What is the WHO definition of health?
- •Being able to exercise for at least 30 minutes without stopping
- ✓Complete physical, mental and social well-being, not just absence of illness
- •Having no diagnosed disease or injury as confirmed by a doctor
- •The ability to perform physical tasks without undue fatigue
What is the effect of chronic alcohol consumption on sports performance?
- •It has no measurable effect on athletic performance at any concentration
- •It reduces delayed onset muscle soreness following high-intensity sessions
- •It significantly improves sprint speed and explosive power at low doses
- ✓Reduced reaction time, coordination, and recovery ability; increased dehydration
What is the difference between health and fitness?
- ✓Health is overall well-being; fitness is ability to meet physical demands
- •Health is permanent; fitness changes daily depending on activity level
- •Health is physical only; fitness includes mental and social aspects
- •Health requires a doctor's assessment; fitness is self-reported
What health risks are associated with obesity linked to poor diet and inactivity?
- •Improved lung efficiency and higher maximum oxygen uptake during aerobic work
- •Lower resting metabolic rate and reduced need for caloric intake at rest
- •Reduced muscle size and decreased ability to perform strength exercises
- ✓Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, joint problems and increased cancer risk
What does physical health and well-being include?
- ✓Freedom from disease, injury and ability to function well physically
- •Only the absence of injury: disease is covered by emotional health
- •The ability to perform cognitive tasks without physical exertion
- •The maximum oxygen uptake achievable during a graded exercise test
Three minutes a day. Knowledge that sticks.
Practise all 21 Health, fitness and well-being questions with spaced repetition, so what you revise today is still there in the exam. Free to use, no card needed.