Question

A student visits hill station in North India during the summer vacations. He observes that some of the people in that area have swollen necks.
(a) Name the disease from which the people with swollen necks are suffering.
(b) What is the cause of this disease?
(c) Why is this disease more prevalent in hilly areas?
(d) What should be done to prevent this disease?

Answer 1

(a) These people must be suffering from goitre.
(b) This disease is caused due to deficiency of thyroxine hormone.
(c) The food grown in hilly areas is deficient of iodine because lot of iodine leaches out from the soil in this region. As a result of which, people suffer from goitre in hilly regions.
(d) This disease can easily be prevented by consuming iodised salt in their daily diet.