A new report says that bad eyesight and high cholesterol can increase the risk of dementia. Dementia is a disease that affects the brain and memory. The report suggests fixing these problems, along with 12 other health issues, could stop almost half of dementia cases worldwide. It is especially important for middle-aged people and those in poorer countries to pay attention to these risks.

Professor Gill Livingston from University College London says it’s important to take steps to lower dementia risk at any age. The report suggests things like using hearing aids, getting a good education, exercising, and staying socially active. People like Andy Watts, who has seen dementia in his family, want to make healthier choices to lower their own risk. The report also points out that hearing loss and high cholesterol are big factors in preventable dementia cases.

Some experts are careful about saying lifestyle changes directly stop dementia, but they agree that being healthy can help the brain. The report connects vision loss to dementia, saying poor eyesight might lead to being alone and less active, which can make memory problems worse. Even though treating vision problems is hard in poorer countries, there’s hope because lifestyle changes have helped reduce dementia in richer countries. Overall, the report is hopeful, showing that people can take steps to lower their dementia risk.

Original news source: Two new dementia risks identified by major report (BBC)

🎧 Listen:

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📖 Vocabulary:

Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– CHARADES
Instructions: Students will act out key terms from the article, such as “dementia,” “exercise,” or “hearing aids,” without speaking, while their classmates guess the word or phrase. This will help reinforce vocabulary related to health and dementia.

– OPINION POLL
Instructions: Students will walk around the classroom and ask their classmates questions about health and dementia, such as “Do you think exercise can help your brain?” or “Have you heard of dementia?” They will record the answers and share the results with the class.

– MIND MAP
Instructions: In small groups, students will create a mind map on paper. They will write “Dementia” in the center and brainstorm related ideas, such as causes, effects, and prevention methods mentioned in the article. Each group will then present their mind map to the class.

– VOCABULARY PICTIONARY
Instructions: Students will draw vocabulary words from the article, such as “cholesterol,” “memory,” or “education,” on the board without using letters or numbers. Their classmates will guess the words based on the drawings, reinforcing vocabulary comprehension.

– TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE
Instructions: Each student will think of two true statements and one false statement related to the article’s content (e.g., “Dementia only affects older people,” “High cholesterol can increase dementia risk,” “Regular exercise is important for brain health”). They will share their statements with a partner, who will guess which one is the lie.

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What two health problems can increase the risk of getting dementia?
2. Why is it important for middle-aged people and those in poorer countries to pay attention to health risks?
3. What are some steps people can take to lower their risk of dementia?
4. Who is Professor Gill Livingston and what does she say about lowering dementia risk?
5. How can poor eyesight make memory problems worse?
6. What do some experts think about lifestyle changes and dementia?
7. Why is the report considered hopeful for people who want to lower their dementia risk?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

A new report says that bad eyesight and high cholesterol can increase the risk of dementia. Dementia is a disease that (1)______ the brain and memory. The report (2)______ fixing these problems, along with 12 other health issues, could stop almost half of dementia cases worldwide. It is especially (3)______ for middle-aged people and those in poorer countries to pay attention to these risks.

Professor Gill Livingston from University College London says it’s important to take steps to lower dementia risk at any age. The report suggests things like (4)______ hearing aids, getting a (5)______ education, exercising, and staying socially active. (6)______ like Andy Watts, who has seen dementia in his family, want to make healthier choices to lower their own risk. The report also points out that hearing loss and high cholesterol are big factors in preventable dementia cases.

Some experts are careful about (7)______ lifestyle changes directly stop dementia, but they agree that being healthy can help the (8)______. The report (9)______ vision loss to dementia, saying poor eyesight might lead to being alone and less active, which can make memory problems worse. Even though treating (10)______ problems is hard in poorer countries, there’s (11)______ because lifestyle changes have helped reduce dementia in richer countries. Overall, the report is hopeful, showing that people can take steps to (12)______ their dementia risk.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is dementia?
2. Do you think it is important to take care of your eyesight? Why?
3. How would you feel if someone in your family had dementia?
4. Do you like to exercise? Why or why not?
5. What is a healthy choice you make every day?
6. Do you think staying socially active is important? Why?
7. How would you feel if you had to wear hearing aids?
8. Have you ever seen someone struggle with memory problems? What did you think?
9. Do you think education can help prevent dementia? Why?
10. What is a way you can help your friends stay healthy?
11. How do you feel about living in a poorer country?
12. Do you think lifestyle changes can really make a difference? Why or why not?

Individual Activities

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. dementia
2. cholesterol
3. preventable
4. socially
5. factors
6. vision
7. poorer
8. lifestyle
9. memory
10. eyesight
11. exercising
12. worldwide

Meanings:
(A) In a way that involves being with other people
(B) Having less money or resources
(C) A type of fat in your blood that can be bad for your heart
(D) All over the world
(E) Things that cause something to happen
(F) The way a person lives, including habits and choices
(G) Can be stopped or avoided
(H) The ability to see
(I) How well you can see
(J) A disease that makes it hard to remember things and think clearly
(K) Moving your body to stay healthy
(L) The ability to remember things
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What can bad eyesight and high cholesterol increase the risk of?
(a) Happiness
(b) Dementia
(c) Strength
(d) Energy

2. Who is especially encouraged to pay attention to health risks?
(a) Young children
(b) Elderly people
(c) Animals
(d) Middle-aged people

3. What is one way to help lower dementia risk?
(a) Watching TV all day
(b) Using hearing aids
(c) Eating junk food
(d) Sleeping too much

4. What does the report say about hearing loss?
(a) It makes people smarter
(b) It helps with memory
(c) It is a big factor in preventable dementia cases
(d) It is not important

5. Who is Professor Gill Livingston?
(a) A doctor in a hospital
(b) A teacher in a school
(c) A professor from University College London
(d) A scientist in a lab

6. What can poor eyesight lead to, according to the report?
(a) Being alone and less active
(b) More friends
(c) Better memory
(d) More energy

7. What is the overall message of the report?
(a) People can take steps to lower their dementia risk
(b) Dementia cannot be changed
(c) Everyone will get dementia
(d) Health does not matter

8. What has helped reduce dementia in richer countries?
(a) Eating more sugar
(b) Ignoring health problems
(c) Staying indoors all the time
(d) Lifestyle changes

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Bad eyesight and high cholesterol can make the risk of dementia higher.
2. The report is pessimistic that people can take steps to lower their risk of getting dementia.
3. The report suggests using hearing aids and staying active to help reduce the risk of dementia.
4. Dementia is a condition that improves how the brain works and how we remember things.
5. Professor Gill Livingston believes it is important to lower dementia risk at any age.
6. Some experts think being healthy can hinder the brain from working well.
7. The report says fixing health problems could help reduce dementia cases around the world.
8. Middle-aged people and those living in richer countries should be careful about these health risks.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. What can bad eyesight and high cholesterol do to a person’s health?
2. Why is it important for middle-aged people to pay attention to dementia risks?
3. What are some things people can do to help lower their risk of dementia?
4. How can poor eyesight make memory problems worse?
5. Why do some experts think being healthy is good for the brain?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What two health problems can increase the risk of getting dementia?
Bad eyesight and high cholesterol can increase the risk of getting dementia.

2. Why is it important for middle-aged people and those in poorer countries to pay attention to health risks?
It’s important for them to pay attention because they may have a higher chance of getting dementia.

3. What are some steps people can take to lower their risk of dementia?
People can use hearing aids, get a good education, exercise, and stay socially active.

4. Who is Professor Gill Livingston and what does she say about lowering dementia risk?
Professor Gill Livingston is from University College London. She says it’s important to take steps to lower dementia risk at any age.

5. How can poor eyesight make memory problems worse?
Poor eyesight might make people feel lonely and less active, which can make memory problems worse.

6. What do some experts think about lifestyle changes and dementia?
Some experts think that lifestyle changes might not directly stop dementia, but being healthy can help the brain.

7. Why is the report considered hopeful for people who want to lower their dementia risk?
The report is hopeful because it shows that people can take steps to lower their risk of dementia.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) affects
(2) suggests
(3) important
(4) using
(5) good
(6) People
(7) saying
(8) brain
(9) connects
(10) vision
(11) hope
(12) lower
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. dementia
Answer: (J) A disease that makes it hard to remember things and think clearly

2. cholesterol
Answer: (C) A type of fat in your blood that can be bad for your heart

3. preventable
Answer: (G) Can be stopped or avoided

4. socially
Answer: (A) In a way that involves being with other people

5. factors
Answer: (E) Things that cause something to happen

6. vision
Answer: (H) The ability to see

7. poorer
Answer: (B) Having less money or resources

8. lifestyle
Answer: (F) The way a person lives, including habits and choices

9. memory
Answer: (L) The ability to remember things

10. eyesight
Answer: (I) How well you can see

11. exercising
Answer: (K) Moving your body to stay healthy

12. worldwide
Answer: (D) All over the world
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What can bad eyesight and high cholesterol increase the risk of?
Answer: (b) Dementia

2. Who is especially encouraged to pay attention to health risks?
Answer: (d) Middle-aged people

3. What is one way to help lower dementia risk?
Answer: (b) Using hearing aids

4. What does the report say about hearing loss?
Answer: (c) It is a big factor in preventable dementia cases

5. Who is Professor Gill Livingston?
Answer: (c) A professor from University College London

6. What can poor eyesight lead to, according to the report?
Answer: (a) Being alone and less active

7. What is the overall message of the report?
Answer: (a) People can take steps to lower their dementia risk

8. What has helped reduce dementia in richer countries?
Answer: (d) Lifestyle changes
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Bad eyesight and high cholesterol can make the risk of dementia higher. (Answer: True)
2. The report is pessimistic that people can take steps to lower their risk of getting dementia. (Answer: False)
3. The report suggests using hearing aids and staying active to help reduce the risk of dementia. (Answer: True)
4. Dementia is a condition that improves how the brain works and how we remember things. (Answer: False)
5. Professor Gill Livingston believes it is important to lower dementia risk at any age. (Answer: True)
6. Some experts think being healthy can hinder the brain from working well. (Answer: False)
7. The report says fixing health problems could help reduce dementia cases around the world. (Answer: True)
8. Middle-aged people and those living in richer countries should be careful about these health risks. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧