A study of the expression of health standards in terms of numbers.

DOONYA JAMES
B.Ed. Student (mathematics)
Mount Carmel College Of
Teacher Education, Kottayam
ABSTRACT

The study was conducted to understand about expression of health standards in terms of number.
It is conducted to know about the application of numbers which is used for showing normal ranges
of the levels of the different components of the body. Deviations from which may indicates
diseases. . Numbers are a way of communicating information, which is very important in the
medical field. Numeracy- related tasks are common in health care and include understanding
nutrition information, interpreting blood sugar reading and other clinical data, adjusting
medication, and understanding probability in risk communication.

INTRODUCTION

The medical field is a very interesting career field. There are hundreds of different occupations
within this field, including anything from saving a fragile new-born baby’s life to prescribing
antibiotics to a relatively healthy adult. Every occupation within the medical field relies heavily
on mathematics. Elementary mathematics, geometry and algebra are all obviously crucial to
advancing in new technology, saving lives and curing diseases. However, most people do not
realize the importance math has on simpler task performed every day by doctors, nurses, x-ray
technicians, pharmacists and hundreds of other jobs in this fascinating career field. Numbers play
an important role in medicine. A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure and label.
In medical field, number is used for indicating a body condition of a body. Numbers gives the
information about patient condition. Numbers provide measurement of health, which can be
warning of infection, illness or disease.
OBJECTIVES

 To know how certain numbers indicate healthy or unhealthy condition of an

individual.
 To examine the awareness among B. Ed. Students major health indices expressing
numbers.
METHODOLGY

To study about the expression of health standards in terms of numbers, the investigator used
questionnaire as tool. Which was distributed among 46 students of Mount Carmel college of
Teacher Education Kottayam.

DATA COLLECTION

Collection of data was based on the survey conducted among 46 students of Mount Carmel College
of teacher education for women.

Questionnaire

Name:

Age:

Weight:

Height:

 How would you describe your body and physical condition?

Lean / average / overweight / obese.

 Which measurement is used for identifying your body condition?
 Do you have any family history of blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol?
Yes/no
  If yes mention it
 What is the desirable cholesterol level?
 In which level you want to take medicine for controlling blood pressure?
 What is the normal range of blood sugar?
 How much sodium serum is required for a normal human being?
 What is the normal range of haemoglobin required for human being?

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

According to survey conducted among 46 students of Mount Carmel

College of teacher education for women the following table shows the percentages of
students those are aware about normal ranges of various components of body.

Components Percentage of people those are aware about

normal ranges

Blood pressure 26.08%

Blood sugar 30.43%

cholesterol 23.91%

Sodium serum 4.30 %

Haemoglobin 28.2%

Based on the survey, the following bar diagram shows the percentages of people those know the
normal ranges of various components required for the body, where series 1 indicate percentages
of people those know the normal ranges and series 2 indicate percentages of people those are
unaware about the normal ranges.

120

Series 1 Series 2
100

80

60

40

20

0
blood pressure blood sugar cholesterol sodium serum hemoglobin

Our body need many components for the proper functioning. But most of the people are unaware
about various components required for body.

CONCLUSION
Number plays a crucial role in health. It ensures appropriate treatment and diagnoses. Now a day’s
most of the people suffer by some lifestyle disease. If we have the knowledge about the normal
ranges we can maintain or take steps to make our body healthy. Numbers give more information
about our body condition. B M I rate indicates physical condition of our body but most of them
are unaware about BMI. Only 26.08% people know the normal range of blood pressure. Out of 46
students only 14 students knows the normal ranges of blood sugar. A sodium test checks how much
sodium is in the blood. It helps keep the water and electrolyte balance of the body. Sodium is also
important in how nerves and muscles work. But 95.7 % of peoples are unaware about the normal
ranges of sodium required for a human being. Cholesterol, a substance required for the normal
function of cells, is present in every cell of the human body. Everyone’s body needs cholesterol,
but too much can spell trouble for some people. Only 23.91% of people are aware about the normal
range of cholesterol.

References
 https://en.m.wikipedia.org
 Mathcentral.uregina.ca.