Disease is an abnormal functioning part of the body caused by genetic issues, infections,

illnesses, and toxicity that include symptoms. What counts as a disease changes over time. For
example, a disease may have been rare at some point, but it could start to become less rare and
become a normal disease to get. Homeostasis is the tendency to remain stable. When the body is
in homeostasis, it has a regular body temperature, normal blood glucose, and everything else that
keeps our body functioning normally. Obesity, cardiovascular disease, and epilepsy are all
diseases.
Obesity is a disease of an excessive amount of adipose (fat) tissue in the body. It is
usually caused by consuming a lot of amounts of food, lack of activity, lack of sleep, even
genetics. Obesity through Americans has grown since the 1960s and around 112,000 deaths are
because of obesity. Obesity also causes other diseases like coronary heart disease (Plaque in
arteries), high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, sleep apnea (uncontrolled breathing while
sleeping), irregular periods, etc. When moving away from homeostasis, the body is getting
higher levels of blood sugar because the lack of insulin, it has frequent urination, more
infections, buildup of plaque in the arteries which causes heart attacks, high blood pressure since
blood flow is too high, gallstones which are made from cholesterol and bile, cancer because
DNA can be damaged over time, and osteoarthritis which is pain in the knees, back, and hips
because of the heavy weight. Obesity was not always a problem back then, but ever since the
food industry grew, it has become very serious disease that is increasing everyday in children
and adults. America is a big country with the largest fast food restaurant population. Obesity can
be prevented by having a healthy diet and being active everyday. I believe that I used to be more
at risk of this disease because I used to eat at fast food places a lot and I ate a lot of junk food. I
have been avoiding fast food places whenever I can and I eat healthier than I used to.
Cardiovascular disease is heart and blood vessel disease. There are so many different
types of heart complications with cardiovascular disease. One of the biggest problems is
atherosclerosis,like I explained earlier, is buildup of plaque in the arteries and does not let the
blood flow normally. If a blood clot forms in these arteries, a heart attack or stroke may happen.
Ischemic stroke is another common issue. It is when a blood vessel that feeds the brain is
blocked, causing the part of the brain to shut off and results in not being able to talk or walk
properly. A hemorrhagic stroke is when a blood vessel in the brain bursts causing high blood
pressure. There are other types of heart diseases like heart failure which is when the heart does
not pump blood properly. Arrhythmia is when the heart has abnormal pumping rhythms. Heart
valve problems is when the heart valves are not opening or closing properly. Cardiovascular
disease is often paired with obesity. Therefore, the preventions are the same. Heart diseases are
also a the reason for most of the premature deaths. My diet is getting way better than before and I
will continue to try to have a healthier lifestyle.
Epilepsy is a central system disorder in which the brain activity is abnormal and causes
seizures, unusual behavior, and sometimes loss of awareness. Some people stare blankly and
doze off while others twitch a lot before a seizure. There are six types of seizures. Absence
seizures which often occurs in children and they doze off, tonic seizures is stiffness in the
muscles, atonic seizures is loss of muscle control, clonic seizures is jerking muscle movements
(usually the face and neck), myoclonic seizures are the same but in the arms and legs, and last is
tonic-clonic seizures which is basically everything all together. A seizure happens when the brain
receives an burst of abnormal electrical signals that temporarily interrupt normal electrical brain
activity. Seizures are caused by birth trauma, fever or infection, alcohol or drugs, head trauma,
alzheimer's disease, stroke, brain tumor, medicines, and more. Epilepsy is more common in
children than adults. A way to prevent epilepsy is having plenty of sleep, learning relaxation
techniques, and avoid anything to not get head trauma. My mother has epilepsy and she has
tonic-clonic seizures. She does not get them often. Last time she got a seizure was in September
2017 because she had a high fever the night before. She usually does not remember what
happens when she has the seizures or how she got to the hospital. I do not think I am at risk of
getting epilepsy.
Diseases are not rare today because of all the causes that there are, especially obesity and
heart disease. I only know a few people with epilepsy. Diseases can be prevented by living a
healthier lifestyle even though some are genetic, living a healthier lifestyle can make the
situation better and makes people more confident with themselves.
 Work Cited

Dr. Mercola. (n.d.). What Happens to Your Body When You Are Obese? The Effects of

Obesity You Can’t Always See. ​Mercola. Retrieved April 10, 2018

from https://articles.mercola.com/obesity.aspx

Rettner, R. (2015). Obesity: Causes, Complications, and Treatments. ​Live Science. ​Retrieved

April 10, 2018 from

https://www.livescience.com/34787-obesity-high-bmi-causes-diabetes-heart-disease.html

Scully, L.J. (2004). What is a disease? ​EMBO reports. ​Retrieved from

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1299105/

Disease [Def. 1]. (n.d.).​ ​In Dictionary.com. ​Dictionary.com Online.​ Retrieved April 10, 2018

From ​http://www.dictionary.com/browse/disease

(2017). What is Cardiovascular Disease? ​American Heart Association. ​Retrieved April 10, 2018

From

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/What-is-Cardiovascular-Disease_UCM_3

01852_Article.jsp#.Ws2Asi7wbIU

(n.d.). Homeostasis. ​Khan Academy. ​Retrieved April 10, 2018 from

 https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/principles-of-physiology/body-structure-a

nd-homeostasis/a/homeostasis

(n.d.). What is Obesity? ​Obesity Society. ​Retrieved April 10, 2018 from

http://www.obesity.org/obesity/resources/facts-about-obesity/what-is-obesity

(n.d.). Epilepsy. ​Mayo Clinic. ​Retrieved April 10, 2018 from

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/epilepsy/symptoms-causes/syc-2035009

(n.d). Epilepsy and Seizures. ​Johns Hopkins Medicine- Health Library. ​Retrieved April 10, 2018

From

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/nervous_system_disorders/epi

lepsy_and_seizures_85,P00779