Understanding The Function Of Body Systems Associated With Energy Metabolism

Submitted By quxxxxnn
Words: 1045
Pages: 5

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_ body/body_basics/metabolism.html # http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= 84W6WLst9EQ

Health & Social Care • Unit 5

Learning outcome 2: Understanding the function of body systems associated with energy metabolism
(Relevant criteria: P4, P5, M1, D2)

© Owned by or under licence to Harcourt Education Ltd 2007

ENERGY
 Forms of energy – chemical, heat , light, sound, electrical and nuclear energy.
 Chemical energy - energy stored within the bonds between molecules. The most common examples of chemical energy are fuels such as gasoline, coal, and natural gas Energy

Energy is needed:
•For blood circulation, lymph and tissue fluid throughout the body
•Breathing and taking in oxygen •Making new cells for growth and repair
•To transmit nerve impulses
•To build enzymes and hormones produced after digestion Health & Social Care • Unit 5

Energy in the body

The body needs energy to function. The process by which it gets this energy is called the metabolic rate. This rate is affected by:
 exercise
 proportion of fat to muscle
 genes you may have inherited.

© Owned by or under licence to Harcourt Education Ltd 2007.

Health & Social Care • Unit 5

Powering the body

The body is powered by:
 Food (digestive system)
 Blood (cardiovascular system)
 Air (respiratory system).

© Owned by or under licence to Harcourt Education Ltd 2007.

Health & Social Care • Unit 5

Reactions in the body
The reactions in cells are powered by ATP (adenosine triposphate - biochemical way to store and use energy)
 Digested food creates glucose.
 The glucose reacts with oxygen to create ATP.

© Owned by or under licence to Harcourt Education Ltd 2007.

What Is Metabolism
 All Chemical reactions that happen in the body  This happens from when we are born to when we die

Health & Social Care • Unit 5

Metabolism
Metabolism involves two processes:

Anabolism which builds up new cells - anabolism or the synthesis of all compounds needed by the cells
(examples are DNA, RNA, an protein synthesis)

Catabolism which breaks down old cells - catabolism or the break down of molecules to obtain energy.
The energy from catabolism is used to power anabolism.
Remember the two processes don’t happen at the same time! © Owned by or under licence to Harcourt Education Ltd 2007.

What Is Metabolism
 converts the fuel in the food we eat into the energy needed to power everything we do, from moving to thinking to growing.
 It is a constant process that begins when we are conceived and ends when we die. If metabolism stops, living things die.

Metabolism
 The digestive system is the group of organs that breaks down food so that the body can use it.
Food must be broken down all the way to its individual molecules to be useable. This involves a number of steps, and different organs to do different parts of the job.

Metabolism
 Once food is broken down it provides energy for many essential body functions.
 It provides the energy for all of our physical activity such as walking, playing sports, working, and talking.
 It also provides the energy for other, more automatic, activities including breathing and thinking.
 Food provides the energy for the nerves, muscles, and organs, including the heart, to continue working.
 It provides the fuel to build and repair body tissues. Food energy is needed to regulate body organs and systems. It is the fuel that provides heat to keep our body temperature at a steady 37.2 degrees.

Metabolism
 The digestive process begins in the mouth. The teeth and the muscles of the mouth begin the digestive process by breaking down the food into smaller bits.
 Saliva, produced by the salivary glands, begins to digest the food before it is even swallowed.
 Saliva and the other chemicals produced along the way to speed the digestive process are called digestive enzymes

How does metabolism work in humans?  Starts with plants – through a process called photosynthesis – a green plant takes in