Health, Fitness and Lifestyle B1 Vocabulary Practice Tests Rules & Examples

Health, Fitness and Lifestyle Vocabulary

Taking care of your body and mind is something people think about every day. Whether you go to the gym, cook healthy meals at home, or simply try to get enough sleep, your lifestyle has a big effect on how you feel. In this lesson, you will learn essential English vocabulary for talking about health, fitness and lifestyle — words and phrases that will help you have real conversations about staying well, keeping active, and making good choices.

A Typical Week for Sarah

Sarah is a 32-year-old teacher. She tries to keep fit by going for a run three times a week. She also watches what she eats — she avoids junk food and tries to eat a balanced diet. Last year, she was very stressed out because of work, so she started doing yoga to help her relax. Her doctor told her she needed to cut down on caffeine and get more rest. Now Sarah feels much better and says her wellbeing has really improved.

Let's look at all the key vocabulary from Sarah's story — and much more!

Key Vocabulary & Meaning Breakdown

1. Health and the Body

2. Fitness and Exercise

3. Diet, Habits and Lifestyle

Collocations & Useful Expressions

Learning collocations — words that naturally go together — will help you sound more natural in English. Here are the most important health, fitness, and lifestyle collocations at B1 level.

Health Collocations

be in good / poor health
My grandmother is 80, but she's still in very good health.

make a full recovery
The doctors are confident that he will make a full recovery after the operation.

suffer from (an illness / a condition)
Many people suffer from back pain because they sit at a desk all day.

boost your immune system
Getting enough sleep can help to boost your immune system.

seek medical advice
If your symptoms do not improve after a few days, you should seek medical advice.

Fitness Collocations

get into shape
He decided to join a gym and get into shape before the summer.

burn calories
Swimming is one of the best ways to burn calories and keep fit.

build up stamina
She runs a little further each week to build up her stamina.

follow a fitness routine
It is easier to stay motivated when you follow a regular fitness routine.

push yourself
The personal trainer encouraged her to push herself a little harder at the gym.

Lifestyle Collocations

lead a healthy lifestyle
He leads a healthy lifestyle — he eats well, exercises regularly, and gets plenty of sleep.

break a bad habit
It can be very difficult to break a bad habit once it is established.

adopt a healthy diet
After her check-up, the doctor suggested she adopt a healthier diet.

cut down on junk food
The first step to better health is to cut down on junk food and sugary drinks.

manage stress
Learning to manage stress is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.

Important Differences & Confusing Words

Tired vs Exhausted

Tired means you need to rest. It is a normal, everyday feeling.
Exhausted is much stronger — it means you are completely without energy. It is an extreme form of tiredness.

I felt a little tired after lunch, so I had a short rest.
After running the marathon, she was completely exhausted and could hardly stand up.

Diet vs Meal

Diet refers to the types of food you eat regularly, or a plan to control what you eat. It is not a single eating occasion.
Meal refers to one specific eating occasion, such as breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

She follows a vegetarian diet — she never eats meat or fish.
We had a delicious meal at an Italian restaurant last night.

Fit vs Healthy

Fit usually refers to physical condition — being able to exercise and move well. It focuses on strength and stamina.
Healthy is a broader word. It can describe someone whose body is working well, food that is good for you, or habits that are good for your wellbeing.

He goes to the gym five days a week, so he is very fit.
Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is a healthy habit.

Note: You can be fit but not perfectly healthy (for example, a runner who eats a poor diet). And you can be healthy but not very fit (for example, someone who eats well but does not exercise much).

Cut Down on vs Give Up

Cut down on means to reduce — you still do or consume something, but less than before.
Give up means to stop completely — you no longer do or consume the thing at all.

I'm trying to cut down on coffee — I used to drink five cups a day, now I drink two.
My uncle gave up smoking completely last January. He hasn't had a single cigarette since.

Symptom vs Side Effect

Symptom is a sign that you are ill — something your body does because of a disease or condition.
Side effect is an unwanted effect caused by a medicine or medical treatment.

Headaches and a high temperature are common symptoms of the flu.
The medicine worked well, but it had the side effect of making her feel dizzy.

Common Mistakes

❌ I do exercise every morning to stay fit and healthy.
✅ I exercise / I do some exercise every morning to stay fit and healthy.
We do not usually say "do exercise" as a general statement. Use "exercise" as a verb, or say "do some exercise."

❌ She is interesting in fitness and healthy food.
✅ She is interested in fitness and healthy food.
"Interested" needs the preposition "in." The adjective "interesting" describes things, not feelings.

❌ He decided to give up on eating so much sugar.
✅ He decided to cut down on eating so much sugar.
"Give up on" means to stop trying to do something (e.g. a goal or a person). Use "cut down on" to reduce an amount, or "give up" (without "on") to stop completely: He gave up sugar entirely.

❌ I suffer with back pain after sitting at my desk all day.
✅ I suffer from back pain after sitting at my desk all day.
The correct dependent preposition with "suffer" in this context is "from," not "with."

❌ She did a recovery quickly after her operation.
✅ She made a quick recovery after her operation.
The correct collocation is "make a recovery," not "do a recovery."

❌ He is very exhausted after working in the garden for twenty minutes.
✅ He felt tired / a little tired after working in the garden for twenty minutes.
"Exhausted" is an extreme adjective meaning completely without energy. Use "tired" for a normal level of fatigue.

❌ You should eat healthy diet to feel better.
✅ You should eat a healthy diet to feel better.
Remember to use the indefinite article "a" before "healthy diet." It is a countable noun phrase.

Health, Fitness and Lifestyle: Quick Summary & Review

In this lesson, you have learnt important vocabulary for talking about health, fitness and lifestyle in English. Here is a quick summary of what to remember:

• Use wellbeing to talk about how healthy and happy you feel overall.
• Use symptom for signs of illness and side effect for unwanted effects of medicine.
• Use keep fit, work out, and build up stamina when talking about exercise and physical condition.
• Remember the difference between fit (able to exercise well) and healthy (in good overall health).
• Use cut down on to reduce something and give up to stop it completely.
• Key dependent prepositions: suffer from an illness, allergic to something, interested in fitness.
• Key collocations: lead a healthy lifestyle, make a full recovery, follow a balanced diet, manage stress, break a bad habit.
• Use tired for normal fatigue and exhausted for extreme tiredness.

By practising these words, phrases, and collocations, you will feel much more confident when talking or writing in English about your own health and lifestyle — at the doctor's, with friends, or in an exam.

Now practise health, fitness and lifestyle vocabulary in the exercises below.