Understanding Non-infectious Diseases
FoundationHeart disease and cancer do not spread between people; they grow from diet and lifestyle. Healthy eating, exercise, no smoking — plus scientific progress — keep illness away.
- Non-infectious diseases do not spread between people; they grow from lifestyle.
- Fat in the vessels causes heart disease; chest tightness and breathlessness are warnings.
- Cancer is abnormal cell growth; early checks and discovery bring a greater chance of cure.
文體小知識：說明文把知識有條理地講解。這一篇教你認識心臟病和癌症等非傳染病，學會用健康生活守護身體。
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1Some illnesses do not pass from one person to another; these are non-infectious diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. They mostly grow out of long-term habits: too much fat, salt and sugar, too little exercise, smoking and drinking. Little by little, the body starts to go wrong.
2Heart disease is common in Hong Kong. The coronary arteries supply blood to the heart. When too much fat builds up inside them, the vessels narrow or even block; the heart then lacks blood and heart disease follows. Patients may feel chest pain or tightness, breathlessness and dizziness; severe cases can be life-threatening.
3Preventing heart disease starts young: eat less fried and fatty food and more vegetables, fruit and grains; take enough exercise every week, such as running and swimming; keep a healthy weight and never smoke. Harmful substances in tobacco damage blood vessels and greatly raise the risk of heart disease.
4Cancer comes from body cells growing abnormally without stopping. Long-term smoking can cause lung cancer, heavy drinking harms the liver, and sunburn hurts the skin — all of these raise the risk of cancer. Prevention is much like that of heart disease: a balanced diet, regular exercise, no smoking or drinking, sun protection outdoors, and health checks as advised, so illness is found and treated early.
5Scientific progress also helps humans fight disease. During the worldwide spread of COVID-19, scientists developed vaccines and rapid tests in a very short time; together with masks and social distancing, they protected countless lives. Practising biosafety — handling pathogens properly and keeping the environment clean — makes it safer for humans to face disease.
1Summary 重點摘要
Heart disease and cancer do not spread between people; they grow from diet and lifestyle. Healthy eating, exercise, no smoking — plus scientific progress — keep illness away.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
A disease that does not pass between people, such as heart disease.
A disease of the heart or blood vessels; fat building up inside vessels makes blood hard to reach the heart.
The blood vessel that supplies the heart muscle; when blocked it causes heart disease.
A disease in which body cells grow abnormally without stopping.
Breathing in tobacco smoke; it harms vessels and lungs and causes many diseases.
Putting a vaccine into the body so it builds resistance against infectious diseases.
Regular examination of the body so illness is found and treated early.
An infectious disease first found in 2019 that spread worldwide; scientists quickly developed vaccines and tests for it.
Measures that handle pathogens and samples safely to stop disease from spreading.
Eating a balance of foods with less fat, salt and sugar.
3Step by step Steps
- Step 1: Infectious and non-infectious diseasesDiseases fall into two great groups by whether they pass between people. Infectious diseases are caused by pathogens and spread from person to person, like flu and cholera. Non-infectious diseases do not spread to others; they grow mainly from heredity, lifestyle and environment acting over a long time — heart disease, cancer and diabetes, for example. Telling the two apart matters: infectious diseases are prevented by hygiene and vaccines, non-infectious ones by healthy living and regular body checks. We need to learn both.
- Step 2: How heart disease formsThe heart beats without stopping to send blood around the body, and it too needs blood for oxygen and nutrients, delivered by the coronary arteries. If we eat too much fatty food for years and exercise too little, fat slowly gathers on the inner walls of the vessels, narrowing them and stiffening them. When blood cannot flow smoothly and the heart runs short, patients feel chest tightness or pain, breathlessness, dizziness and sweating; if a vessel blocks completely, a heart attack follows, which is very dangerous.
- Step 3: Symptoms and risk factorsCommon warnings before a heart attack include chest tightness and a crushing pain that sometimes spreads to the arm and jaw, along with breathlessness, nausea and cold sweat. The main risk factors are a diet high in fat and salt, lack of exercise, obesity, smoking, too much alcohol and long-term stress. Most of these are things we can change: if we build good habits from childhood — more vegetables and less meat, exercise every day — the chance of illness drops greatly.
- Step 4: Understanding cancerOur body cells normally grow and renew in good order, but some cells divide wildly out of control, forming tumours that disturb the organs; this is cancer. Risk factors include smoking (which can cause lung cancer), heavy drinking (which harms the liver), long exposure to strong sun (which hurts the skin) and eating too many preserved foods; some cancers also run in families. Cancer is not untreatable: the earlier it is found, the greater the chance of cure, which is why regular body checks are so important.
- Step 5: Healthy living keeps disease awayThe rules for preventing heart disease and cancer are really the same healthy-living rules. First, eat a balanced diet: plenty of vegetables, fruit and grains, less fried, preserved and sugary food. Second, exercise regularly: enough physical activity every day to raise the heartbeat and breathing. Third, keep a healthy weight and sleep enough. Fourth, never smoke, keep away from second-hand smoke, and do not drink when grown up. Started young, these habits protect our vessels and cells from harm piling up year after year.
- Step 6: Science against the pandemicCOVID-19 swept across the world and reminded us that the threat of infectious disease remains. In that pandemic, science showed its power: scientists developed several vaccines in a remarkably short time, helping bodies build resistance; rapid tests let people quickly learn whether they were infected; medicines and treatments kept improving. Scientific progress protected countless lives and pushed biosafety forward. Old habits such as hand-washing and masks, joined with new science, are exactly how humanity faces a great outbreak.
- Step 7: Biosafety is everyone's dutyBiosafety means all the measures that stop pathogens from spreading by accident or being misused. In laboratories, scientists wear protective clothing and handle samples in special settings; in the community, handling rubbish and sewage properly, not touching wild animals and wearing masks when ill are all parts of biosafety. The pandemic taught us that when everyone does their part and cooperates with quarantine and vaccination arrangements, the community's shield against disease stands firm, and everyone's life and health are protected.
5Worked example Example
Example: After retiring, Uncle Cheung loves preserved meats and fried food, seldom exercises, and has smoked for forty years. Recently he feels breathless after a few steps, and his chest sometimes feels tight. What are his risk factors for heart disease? What advice would you give him?
- Diet: preserved and fried foods hold lots of fat and salt; eating them for years makes fat gather inside the blood vessels.
- Lifestyle: little exercise weakens the heart and lungs; forty years of smoking lets tobacco poisons keep damaging the vessels.
- Symptoms: breathlessness and chest tightness are exactly the warning signs that the heart may be short of blood — they must not be ignored.
- Advice: see a doctor soon for a check; eat more vegetables and less meat with less fried food; exercise moderately every day; make up his mind to quit smoking.
- Answer: Uncle Cheung's risk factors are a high-fat, high-salt diet, lack of exercise and long-term smoking. He should first see a doctor about the chest tightness, then improve his diet, exercise regularly and quit smoking. With a cheerful mind and these changes, his heart health can slowly recover.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1Does heart disease spread between people?
Q2What vessel supplies blood to the heart?
Q3Name two ways to prevent heart disease.
Q4Which habit raises the risk of lung cancer?
Q5What did scientists quickly develop against COVID-19 to protect lives?
8Recap Recap
- Non-infectious diseases do not spread between people; they grow from lifestyle.
- Fat in the vessels causes heart disease; chest tightness and breathlessness are warnings.
- Cancer is abnormal cell growth; early checks and discovery bring a greater chance of cure.
- Balanced diet, regular exercise and no smoking — prevention starts young.
- Scientific progress like vaccines and rapid tests, plus biosafety, helps us face pandemics.