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Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Web Quest
Abstract Learning Objectives
Students explore the Using Family History to
Improve Your Health module on the Genetic Science Chronic diseases such as heart
Learning Center website to complete a web quest. disease, cancer and diabetes,
run in families.
An individual’s environment,
personal choices and genetic
Logistics make-up all contribute to their
risk of developing a chronic
disease.
Time Required
Family health histories can
Class Time: provide important information
50-80 minutes about an individual’s risk of
develoing a chronic disease.
Prep Time:
Lifestyle modifications that
10 minutes to copy student pages
improve health can reduce an
individual’s risk of developing a
Materials chronic disease.
Student pages, computers with Internet access
Prior Knowledge Needed
None
Appropriate For:
Primary Intermediate Secondary College
© 2006 University of Utah This activity was downloaded from: [Link]
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Module [Link]
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Classroom Implementation
Activity instructions:
• Have students log on to the Using Family History to Improve Your Health module at [Link]
edu/units/health.
• Instruct students to navigate their way through the module to complete the web quest (pages S-1 – S-6).
Standards Quantities
U.S. National Science Education Standards Per Student
Grades 5-8: One copy of student pages
Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives - Risks S-1 to S-6
and Benefits
• Risk analysis considers the type of hazard and estimates the number of people that might be exposed and
the number likely to suffer consequences. The results are used to determine the options for reducing or
eliminating risks.
• Students should understand the risks associated with personal hazards (smoking, dieting, and drinking).
• Important personal and social decisions are made based on perceptions of benefits and risks.
Grades 9-12:
Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives - Personal and Community Health
• Many diseases can be prevented, controlled or cured.
• Personal choice concerning fitness and health involves multiple factors. Personal goals, peer and social
pressures, ethnic and religious beliefs, and understanding of biological consequences can all influence
decisions about health practices.
U.S. National Health Education Standards
Grades 5-8:
Standard 1: Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease
prevention to enhance health.
• Describe how family history can impact personal health.
Standard 2: Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology and
other factors on health behaviors.
• Examine how the family influences the health of adolescents.
Standard 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products and services to
enhance health.
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Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
• Describe situations that may require professional health services.
Grades 9-12:
Standard 1: Students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease
prevention to enhance health.
• Analyze how genetics and family history can impact personal health.
Standard 2: Students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology and
other factors on health behaviors.
• Analyze how family influences the health of individuals.
Standard 3: Students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information and products and services to
enhance health.
• Determine when professional health services may be required.
AAAS Benchmarks for Science Literacy
Grades 6-8:
The Human Organism: Physical Health - Students should extend their study of the healthy functioning of the
human body and ways it may be promoted or disrupted by diet, lifestyle, bacteria, and viruses. Students
should consider the effects of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs on the way the body functions.
• The amount of food energy (calories) a person requires varies with body weight, age, sex, activity level, and
natural body efficiency. Regular exercise is important to maintain a healthy heart/lung system, good muscle
tone, and bone strength.
• Toxic substances, some dietary habits, and some personal behavior may be bad for one’s health. Some
effects show up right away, others may not show up for many years. Avoiding toxic substances, such as
tobacco, and changing dietary habits to reduce the intake of such things as animal fat increases the chances
of living longer.
Credits Additional Resources
Visit the Genetic Science Learning Center website
Activity created by: to get links to great resources like this one! Just click on
April Mitchell, Genetic Science Learning Center Using Family History to Improve Your Health, then scroll
down each page to find relevant Additional Resources.
Brendan Nicholson, Genetic Science Learning
Center (illustrations) • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): learn
more about preventing chronic disease and public health
research.
Funding
Supported by the Utah Department of Health Chronic Disease Genomics Program through
Cooperative Agreement Number U58/CCU822802 from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent
the official views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Answer Key
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
1. What does it mean to be “at risk” for developing a disease?
You are likely to develop the disease, but can possibly prevent it.
2. Why is it important to know your family health history?
- It can tell you if a disease runs in your family, putting you at risk.
- If you know you’re at risk, you can take steps to protect yourself.
3. What two factors contribute to a person’s risk?
Genetics and environment
4. Why is it important to make healthy choices and take good care of your body?
You can reduce, if not neutralize, genetic risk factors and add years to your life.
5. When talking to parents and grandparents about your family’s health history, which diseases should you ask
about?
• Heart disease • Osteoporosis
• Stroke • Cancer
• Asthma • High Blood Pressure
• Diabetes • High Cholesterol
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Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Answer Key
6. What “features” of a family health history are most informative when it comes to assessing disease risk?
• Having one or more close relatives with the same medical condition.
• Having a relative diagnosed with a condition at an early age
(typically before age 55).
• Having a relative with a disease that is more rare in a certain gender
(for example, a female with heart disease).
• Having a combination of diseases that run in your family
(for example, both diabetes and heart disease).
Learn more: Calculating Genetic Risk
7. Compare and contrast diseases caused by a single gene with more complex diseases influenced by multiple
genes. (Fill in the answers to complete the table below.)
Disease caused by: Rare or common? Possible inheritance Risk is very
patterns? predictable?
Single gene Rare Dominant or recessive Yes
Multiple genes Common Multifactorial No
8. Heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes are all examples of which type of disease: a single gene disease
or a complex disease? Circle the row on the table above that describes the characteristics of these
diseases.
These are all complex diseases
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Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Answer Key
Learn more: Lifestyle Choices and Risk
9. State the two leading causes of preventable death in the United States.
Tobacco and obesity
10. What are the three types of fuel the human body uses to get energy?
Carbohydrates, proteins and fats
11. Most people know that smoking cigarettes is bad for your lungs, but smoking also affects your heart. How?
Nicotine narrows blood vessels and decreases the amount of good cholesterol in the blood.
Learn more: Nutrition and Physical Activity
12. State the two requirements for a healthy diet.
- Eating a variety of foods
- Choosing the best foods in each group
calories, saturated and trans fats and high infi________.
13. Healthy foods are low in _____________________________________ ber
14. How many grams of fiber should a person get every day?
20-35 grams
15. If fiber comes from plants, which foods do you think contain the most fiber?
Fruits and vegetables
16. Define physical activity. Give two examples of physical activity not already provided.
Any movement produced by muscular contractions that burns extra calories. Examples will vary.
17. How much physical activity per day is recommended for teens?
60 minutes
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Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Answer Key
Learn More: Most Common Complex Diseases
18. Match the disease with its correct definition and/or symptoms:
Uncontrolled cell growth resulting in tumor
A. Heart Disease/Stroke formation
Contributes to the formation of plaques on
B. Asthma the inner walls of blood vessels (called
atherosclerosis)
Having too little bone mass and easily
C. Diabetes broken bones, most commonly hip frac-
tures
Narrowing of airways in the lung causing
D. Osteoporosis difficulty breathing
Excessive force on walls of blood vessels,
E. Cancer over-working the heart and kidneys
Inability to produce or use the hormone
F. High Blood Pressure insulin, resulting in toxic accumulation of
sugar in the blood
A narrowing of the blood vessels that
G. High Cholesterol restricts blood flow to the heart or brain
Learn More: Heart Disease and Stroke
19. What are the top three causes of death in America?
Heart disease, cancer and stroke
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Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Answer Key
Learn More: Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
20. Imagine you are a doctor visiting with a patient who has high cholesterol. What lifestyle changes would
you recommend to help him lower his cholesterol? Why?
Avoid smoking tobacco, maintain a healthy body weight, participate regularly in physical activity,
eat foods low in sodium and cholesterol, and replace trans and saturated fats with unsaturated
fats.
Learn More: Diabetes
21. How does overweight and obesity increase a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes? (Your brief
answer should include the following key words: insulin, hormone, glucose, type 2 diabetes.)
Insulin is a hormone that encourages cells to drink up the sugar (called glucose) circulating in
the blood after a meal. Obesity causes a person’s cells to forget how to use insulin. Therefore,
sugar builds up in the blood and causes the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.
Learn More: Osteoporosis
22. You have a friend who struggles with an eating disorder and is underweight. While researching ways to
help her, you find out that teens with eating disorders are at increased risk of developing osteoporosis in later
years. Why? (Your brief answer should include the following key words: calcium, bone tissue, osteoporosis.)
Teens with eating disorders typically are not getting enough calcium in their diet. To supply the
body with needed calcium, bone tissue must be broken down more often. This can cause osteo-
porosis in later years.
Learn More: Cancer
23. How can damage to a growth control gene in a single cell in the body sometimes lead to cancer? (Your
brief answer should include the following key words: cell growth, genes, mutation, tumor, metastasize.)
Cell growth is controlled by a group of genes. If one of these genes acquires a mutation, too
many cells will be produced. Excess cells clump together to form a tumor. The cancer becomes
very serious if the tumor begins to spread or metastasize throughout the body.
24. When talking to your family about their health history, what are the four most common cancers that you
want to ask them about?
Prostate, breast, lung and colon cancer
25. Define what is meant by a “close relative” and state what is considered an “early age” at diagnosis.
- Only a grandparent, parent or sibling is considered a “close” relative.
- Age 50-55 is an early age to develop one of these more common forms of cancer.
© 2006 University of Utah This activity was downloaded from: [Link] 7
Name
Date Print-and-Go™
[Link]
Using Family History to Improve Your Health
Log on to: [Link] and explore this module to find the answers
to the questions below.
Hint: the Search feature on this website may or may not help you find what you are looking for;
it is best to go through the module to find the answers.
1. What does it mean to be “at risk” for developing a disease?
2. Why is it important to know your family health history?
3. What two factors contribute to a person’s risk?
4. Why is it important to make healthy choices and take good care of your body?
5. When talking to parents and grandparents about your family’s health history, which diseases should you
ask about?
© 2006 University of Utah Permission granted for classroom use. S-1
Name
Date Print-and-Go™
[Link]
6. What “features” of a family health history are most informative when it comes to assessing disease risk?
Learn more: Calculating Genetic Risk
7. Compare and contrast diseases caused by a single gene with more complex diseases influenced by multiple
genes. (Fill in the answers to complete the table below.)
Disease caused by: Rare or common? Possible inheritance Risk is very
patterns? predictable?
Single gene
Multiple genes
8. Heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes are all examples of which type of disease: a single gene disease
or a complex disease? Circle the row on the table above that describes the characteristics of these
diseases.
© 2006 University of Utah Permission granted for classroom use. S-2
Name
Date Print-and-Go™
[Link]
Learn more: Lifestyle Choices and Risk
9. State the two leading causes of preventable death in the United States.
10. What are the three types of fuel the human body uses to get energy?
11. Most people know that smoking cigarettes is bad for your lungs, but smoking also affects your heart.
How?
Learn more: Nutrition and Physical Activity
12. State the two requirements for a healthy diet.
13. Healthy foods are low in ____________________________________________ and high in _________.
14. How many grams of fiber should a person get every day?
15. If fiber comes from plants, which foods do you think contain the most fiber?
16. Define physical activity. Give two examples of physical activity not already provided.
17. How much physical activity per day is recommended for teens?
© 2006 University of Utah Permission granted for classroom use. S-3
Name
Date Print-and-Go™
[Link]
Learn More: Most Common Complex Diseases
18. Match the disease with its correct definition and/or symptoms:
Uncontrolled cell growth resulting in tumor
A. Heart Disease/Stroke formation
Contributes to the formation of plaques on
B. Asthma the inner walls of blood vessels (called
atherosclerosis)
Having too little bone mass and easily
C. Diabetes broken bones, most commonly hip frac-
tures
Narrowing of airways in the lung causing
D. Osteoporosis difficulty breathing
Excessive force on walls of blood vessels,
E. Cancer over-working the heart and kidneys
Inability to produce or use the hormone
F. High Blood Pressure insulin, resulting in toxic accumulation of
sugar in the blood
A narrowing of the blood vessels that
G. High Cholesterol restricts blood flow to the heart or brain
Learn More: Heart Disease and Stroke
19. What are the top three causes of death in America?
© 2006 University of Utah Permission granted for classroom use. S-4
Name
Date Print-and-Go™
[Link]
Learn More: Blood Pressure and Cholesterol
20. Imagine you are a doctor visiting with a patient who has high cholesterol. What lifestyle changes would
you recommend to help him lower his cholesterol? Why?
Learn More: Diabetes
21. How does overweight and obesity increase a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes? (Your brief
answer should include the following key words: insulin, hormone, glucose, type 2 diabetes.)
Learn More: Osteoporosis
22. You have a friend who struggles with an eating disorder and is underweight. While researching ways to
help her, you find out that teens with eating disorders are at increased risk of developing osteoporosis in later
years. Why? (Your brief answer should include the following key words: calcium, bone tissue, osteoporosis.)
© 2006 University of Utah Permission granted for classroom use. S-5
Name
Date Print-and-Go™
[Link]
Learn More: Cancer
23. How can damage to a growth control gene in a single cell in the body sometimes lead to cancer?
(Your brief answer should include the following key words: cell growth, genes, mutation, tumor, metastasize.)
24. When talking to your family about their health history, what are the four most common cancers that you
want to ask them about?
25. Define what is meant by a “close relative” and state what is considered an “early age” at diagnosis.
© 2006 University of Utah Permission granted for classroom use. S-6
