Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A person with a bad cold feels worse for two days than a person with a mild chronic disease feels on any one day. Yet doctors say the chronic disease harms health more. Explain why.
A disease is a failure of a part of the body to work well. An acute disease lasts a short time, for example a common cold. A chronic disease lasts a long time, even for life, for example tuberculosis, and harms health more. Symptoms are what the patient feels; signs are what the doctor finds.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The cold. It is acute. It makes the person feel bad for a short time, and then the body recovers.
Step 2. The chronic disease. It lasts for months or years. The body is short of strength all that time, so the person may lose weight and tire easily.
Step 3. The wider effect. The person may miss school or work for months. The family loses income and spends money on treatment.
Answer: the long time is what harms health. The chronic disease has a drastic effect on overall health, while the cold passes in a few days.
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