Practice F.1 Measuring food and health with authentic IB Geography exam questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 structure, covering key topics like physical geography, human geography, and geospatial analysis. Get instant solutions, detailed explanations, and build exam confidence with questions in the style of IB examiners.
Paper
Level
Question 1
SL & HLPaper 1
The diagram shows the projected changes in the prevalence of undernourishment from 2020 to 2050 in different world regions. The y-axis represents the percentage of the population that is undernourished, and the x-axis represents the years from 2020 to 2050. The regions include Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and East Asia. Each region is represented by a different color line. Sub-Saharan Africa shows a slight decrease, South Asia shows a significant decrease, Latin America remains relatively stable, and East Asia shows a moderate decrease.
1.[6]
Explain two possible reasons for the significant decrease in undernourishment in South Asia.
2.[4]
Describe the trends in undernourishment from 2020 to 2050 for each of the regions shown in the diagram.
3.[10]
Discuss the potential challenges that Sub-Saharan Africa might face in achieving a significant reduction in undernourishment by 2050.
4.[10]
Evaluate the effectiveness of one policy intervention that could help reduce undernourishment in Latin America.
Question 2
SL & HLPaper 1
The graph shows the amount of global food aid in millions of tonnes, from 2000 to 2011.
1.[1]
Identify the year in which global food aid was greatest
2.[1]
State the year in which global aid given directly by a donor country was highest.
3.[2]
Describe the trends in food aid between 2000 and 2011.
4.[6]
Explain two possible disadvantages of food aid for a community that is currently experiencing food shortages.
5.[10]
“Prevention should always be prioritized over treatment.” Discuss this statement, with reference to specific diseases and communities.
Question 3
SL & HLPaper 1
The diagram shows the projected changes in global food production and population growth from 2020 to 2050. The y-axis represents the percentage change, and the x-axis represents the years from 2020 to 2050.
1.[1]
State the percentage change in global food production in the year 2035
2.[1]
Identify the percentage change difference between global food production and population growth in 2040
3.[2]
Describe the trends in global food production and population growth from 2020 to 2050 as shown in the diagram.
4.[6]
Explain two possible reasons for the slowdown in the rate of increase in global food production after 2040.
5.[10]
Evaluate the effectiveness of one technological and one policy intervention that could help address the projected mismatch between global food production and population growth.
Question 4
SL & HLPaper 1
The graph shows the density of doctors, nurses, and midwives in the 57 countries with critical health workforce shortage (HRH crisis countries)
Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)
1.[1]
Identify the country with the lowest density of doctors, nurses, and midwives in the graph.
2.[1]
Identify the critical density threshold per 1,000 population, as used in the graph.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why a low health workforce density can limit access to healthcare in these countries.
4.[6]
Explain two factors—economic, political, or geographical—that contribute to persistent healthcare workforce shortages in these countries.
5.[10]
"Strengthening the health workforce is the most critical step toward achieving universal health coverage."
To what extent do you agree with this statement?
6.[10]
Evaluate the impact of health worker shortages on the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) in low-income countries.
Question 5
SL & HLPaper 1
The graph shows the estimated adult obesity prevalence (%) from 1975 to 2016 in six selected countries.
Source: World Health Organisation (WHO) - Global HEalth Observatory (2024)
1.[1]
Identify the country with the highest adult obesity rate in 2016.
2.[1]
Identify the country with the lowest adult obesity rate in 2016.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why obesity rates have increased in countries such as the United States and Australia.
4.[6]
Explain two possible social or economic impacts of rising obesity levels for countries at different levels of development.
5.[10]
Explain how changes in diet and physical activity are contributing to the rise in obesity in both high-income and middle-income countries.
6.[10]
Discuss strategies that can be used by governments and communities to reduce obesity rates.
Question 6
SL & HLPaper 1
The graph shows the per capita average daily intake of calories in selected countries as of 2014 (in kcal)
Source: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
1.[2]
Identify two countries in the graph where the average calorie intake is higher than the global average.
2.[2]
Outline one reason why the average calorie intake in countries such as Somalia or North Korea is low.
3.[6]
Explain two ways in which low calorie intake can affect the health and productivity of a population.
4.[10]
Describe two indicators that can be used to measure health.
5.[10]
Explain why food availability does not always mean food security.
Question 7
SL & HLPaper 1
1.
Define the health measure HALE and explain how it differs from life expectancy.
2.
Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of two other indices (other than HALE) used to measure the health of populations.
3.[10]
Discuss the connections between affluence and health.
Question 8
SL & HLPaper 1
The diagram shows the projected changes in the prevalence of obesity and undernourishment from 2020 to 2050 in different world regions. The y-axis represents the percentage of the population affected, and the x-axis represents the years from 2020 to 2050. The regions include North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Europe. Each region is represented by a different color line. North America shows a significant increase in obesity, Sub-Saharan Africa shows a decrease in undernourishment but a slight increase in obesity, South Asia shows a significant decrease in undernourishment, and Europe shows a moderate increase in obesity.
1.[4]
Describe the trends in obesity and undernourishment from 2020 to 2050 for each of the regions shown in the diagram.
2.[6]
Explain two possible reasons for the significant increase in obesity in North America.
3.[10]
Discuss the potential challenges that Sub-Saharan Africa might face in addressing both undernourishment and the rising trend in obesity by 2050.
4.[10]
Evaluate the effectiveness of one policy intervention that could help reduce undernourishment in South Asia.
Question 9
SL & HLPaper 1
The map shows the percentage of adults with obesity by country.
Source: Worldobesity.org
1.[1]
Identify one region with a high percentage of adult obesity.
2.[1]
Identify one region with a low percentage of adult obesity.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why levels of adult obesity are higher in high-income countries than in low-income countries.
4.[6]
Explain two possible health or economic consequences of increasing levels of obesity in a country.
5.[10]
Describe how the nutrition transition is contributing to changes in patterns of health in middle-income countries.
6.[10]
Explain how rising levels of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are linked to global patterns of food consumption.
Question 10
SL & HLPaper 1
The graph shows the trend in the number of undernourished people in developing regions over four time periods (1969–2002).
Source: Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
1.[1]
Identify the region that had the highest number of undernourished people in 1969–1971.
2.[1]
Identify the region that showed an increase in undernourishment between 1990–1992 and 2000–2002.
3.[2]
Outline one reason why the number of undernourished people has increased in Sub-Saharan Africa
4.[6]
Explain two possible consequences of persistent undernourishment for population health and economic development.
5.[10]
Describe how patterns of food consumption vary between high-income and low-income countries.
6.[10]
Explain how access to clean water can influence patterns of health and disease in different parts of the world.