Health facts for kids
Health means feeling good in every way – with your body, your mind, and how you get along with others. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it's not just about not being sick. It's about feeling completely well.
- Physical health is about your body.
- Mental health is about how you think and feel.
- Social health is about how you live with family, friends, and others in your community.
Contents
What is Health?
Physical Well-being
Physical health means your body is working well. It's about being strong and able to do everyday things without getting too tired. This includes things like walking, running, and playing sports.
Your physical health depends on a few things:
- Your genes: Some health traits are passed down from your family.
- Your environment: Where you live matters. Clean air and water, and good medical care, help you stay healthy.
- Your choices: What you do every day is very important!
A good way to check your physical health is by looking at your Body Mass Index (BMI). This is a number that compares your height and weight. It helps show if your weight is healthy for your height. Being too heavy or too thin can affect your health.
Mental Well-being
Mental health is about your emotions and how you think. It means you can handle your feelings, solve problems, and deal with everyday challenges. When you have good mental health, you feel capable and can manage stress.
Signs of good mental health include:
- Feeling able to handle things.
- Being able to deal with normal stress.
- Having good relationships with friends and family.
- Being able to live an independent life.
- Being able to "bounce back" after tough times.
It's normal to feel sad or stressed sometimes. But if these feelings last a long time or stop you from doing things, it's important to talk to a trusted adult or a doctor.
Public Health
Public health is about keeping whole communities healthy, not just one person. It focuses on preventing diseases and promoting good health for everyone. Public health efforts help people live longer and healthier lives.
Public health workers try to stop diseases from spreading. They do this by:
- Watching for diseases: They keep track of illnesses to see where and how they are spreading.
- Teaching people: They educate communities about healthy habits.
- Running vaccination programs: These programs help protect many people from serious diseases.
- Making sure water is clean: Clean drinking water stops many illnesses.
Simple actions can make a big difference in public health. For example, Hand washing for about 30 seconds is very important, especially when there are many germs around. Sometimes, avoiding crowded places or wearing a mask can also help stop the spread of sickness.
What Influences Our Health?
Many things affect how healthy you are and how good your life feels. It's not just about doctors and medicine. Your choices, your community, and even your genes play a big part. The World Health Organization says that your social life, your economic situation, your physical surroundings, and your personal habits all influence your health.
Here are some key things that affect whether people are healthy:
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Studies show that things like your lifestyle, where you live, and how healthcare is set up all affect your health. For example, some countries have added a sugar tax to drinks. This is because too much sugar can lead to obesity, especially in young people.
The idea of a "health field" helps us understand this better. It says three main things affect your health:
- Your Body: All the physical and mental parts of you, including what you inherit from your parents.
- Your Environment: Everything outside your body that you can't control, like clean air and water.
- Your Lifestyle: The personal choices you make, like what you eat or how active you are.
These three parts—physical, mental, and social well-being—are sometimes called the "health triangle." They all work together to keep you healthy.
Research also shows that people can improve their health by being active, getting enough sleep, spending time outdoors, keeping a healthy body weight, limiting certain substances, and avoiding smoking. Even if someone has a long-term illness, they can still feel healthy by focusing on these things.
The environment around you is very important for health. This includes the natural environment (like parks), the built environment (like buildings and roads), and your social environment (like your community). Clean water and air, good housing, and safe communities help everyone stay healthy, especially kids. Studies show that having green spaces nearby can make people happier and healthier.
Your Genetics, or traits you get from your parents, also play a role. They can make you more likely to get certain health conditions. Your family's habits can also influence your lifestyle. For example, how you handle stress might be partly genetic.
Keeping Ourselves Healthy
Staying healthy is an ongoing journey. It involves learning about health, making good personal choices, and having support from your community.
Eating Well for Energy
Eating a healthy diet is a key part of staying healthy. A healthy diet includes many different plant-based and animal-based foods. These foods give your body nutrients that provide energy and help it work properly. Nutrients build strong bones and muscles and help regulate body processes like blood pressure. Water is also super important for growth and good health.
There are two main types of nutrients:
- Macronutrients: These are needed in larger amounts, like proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
- Micronutrients: These are needed in smaller amounts, like vitamins and minerals, but they are still very important.
Following a food guide pyramid or similar guide can help you choose healthy foods. Making good food choices can lower your risk of heart disease and some types of cancer. It also helps you keep a healthy weight.
Moving Our Bodies
Physical exercise helps you stay fit and healthy. It makes your bones and muscles stronger and improves your cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels). There are four main types of exercise: endurance (like running), strength (like lifting weights), flexibility (like stretching), and balance.
Being physically active can lower your risk of heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and even help with depression and anxiety. It's good to start exercising slowly and build up. Any activity, like housework, walking, or even standing more, is better than none!
The Power of Sleep
Sleep is super important for your health. For children and teenagers, it's also vital for growth and development. Not getting enough sleep for a long time can increase your risk for some health problems. It can also make you more likely to get sick and take longer to recover.
For example, one study found that people who slept six hours or less a night were four times more likely to catch a cold than those who slept seven hours or more. Sleep also helps regulate your metabolism, so not enough sleep can affect your weight.
The National Sleep Foundation has recommendations for how much sleep you need based on your age:
| Age and condition | Sleep needs |
|---|---|
| Newborns (0–3 months) | 14 to 17 hours |
| Infants (4–11 months) | 12 to 15 hours |
| Toddlers (1–2 years) | 11 to 14 hours |
| Preschoolers (3–5 years) | 10 to 13 hours |
| School-age children (6–13 years) | 9 to 11 hours |
| Teenagers (14–17 years) | 8 to 10 hours |
| Adults (18–64 years) | 7 to 9 hours |
| Older Adults (65 years and over) | 7 to 8 hours |
Related pages
Images for kids
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Nurses in Kokopo, East New Britain, Papua New Guinea
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A lady washing her hands c. 1655
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See also
In Spanish: Salud para niños
