Q.On an educational trip to Uttaranchal, Ketki and her friends observe that many local people were having swollen necks. Please help Ketki and her friends to find out the solutions to the following questions. a. Which probable disease are these people suffering from? b. How is it caused? c. What effect does this condition have on pregnancy?

Iodine deficiency is best understood by first thinking about what your body needs to run properly. Your thyroid gland, a small butterfly-shaped organ in your neck, acts like a factory. It takes raw material — iodine — and turns it into thyroid hormones. These hormones are the body’s master regulators: they control your metabolism, growth, brain development, and even your body temperature.

If you don’t get enough iodine from food, the factory can’t produce enough hormones. The gland works harder and harder to compensate, often swelling up. That swelling is called a goitre, and it’s the most visible sign of deficiency. But the real damage happens inside, especially to a developing baby’s brain and to a child’s physical and mental growth.

The consequences are not just one thing — they form a spectrum, from mild tiredness and weight gain to severe intellectual disability. Here are the main effects grouped by who is affected:

• For a foetus and infant: The most serious. Lack of iodine can cause stillbirth, miscarriage, or cretinism — a condition of severe physical and mental stunting. Even a mild shortage lowers cognitive ability.
• For children: Poor school performance, delayed growth, and slower physical development.
• For adults: Fatigue, weight gain, feeling cold all the time, depression, and a swollen neck (goitre). Women are more vulnerable because of pregnancy and menstruation. …