Social Health NCERT Solutions | Health and Physical Education for Class 9 PDF Download

Answer the following Questions

Q.1. What is the meaning of social health? How do social customs influence social health?

• Social Health is how an individual will react to oneself, people around them and towards society in general.
• It is the interactive well-being of a person.  It is dependent on Social Customs.
• Social Customs are the set-up in which a person is born, these customs shape a person and accordingly shape the kind of social relations they end up forming later in life.
• For instance, substance abuse can make a child grow into an addict. 

Q.2. Examine the social customs in respect of early marriage, breastfeeding practices, family size and preference for male child.

When a child is born, their experiences and behaviour are shaped by the conditioning they receive at home. Different cultures and families have different customs which manifest themselves differently in people.
There are many kinds of social customs that exist:

• Early marriage: In cases of females, early marriages lead to adolescent pregnancies. This is not good either for the mother or the child. And both their lives are at risk due to early pregnancy.
• Breastfeeding practices: Breast milk is extremely important for the physical and psychological development of the child. It contains many nutrients that are essential for the child's development and cannot be emulated by milk powder or any other mixture. It is becoming increasingly concerning that breastfeeding is being replaced by milk powder. 
• Family Size/Preference for Male Child: Certain societies emphasize on male child and keep reproducing until they beget one. This leads to the family neglecting the female child and the female child not getting enough nutrients due to the size and disproportional preference.

Q.3. What is substance abuse? How does it affect the social and individual health?

• The increasing dependency and the overuse of drugs or any other intoxicants in one's life is known as substance abuse.
• It makes a person distant from their social relations, resort to a life of crime and violence, lashing out on female members of the family and other social relations.
• It affects the person's health heavily as most drugs are harmful and have an adverse effect on their psychological development.

Q.4. Why is the protection of natural resources important for social and individual health?

• The life of every individual is dependent on the choices of others. Everyone is affected by environmental degradations but certain people with pre-existing conditions are even more prone to being affected by it due to old-age, diseases and low-immunity.
• It is important to protect the natural resources for it affects the society as a whole, and the sustainability of life on Earth.
• These natural resources are not distributed equally, so people should also be cautious of how they put the surplus to use and the manage the deficit accordingly.

Q.5. What do you mean by community education? Why is it important to educate the community for a healthy life?

• The ecosystem is designed in such a way that every living being is dependent on another, especially when it comes to communities.
• A community's health lies in the cooperation and understanding of the individuals who comprise it. Hence, it is necessary to make communities better informed on how to be more sustainable. This will increase the quality of life for every individual.
• Our food choices, sharing of resources, protection of the environment, all play a big role in shaping our health.
• If we educate a community about the benefits of the same, it can result in a better life for everyone.