What Is Health?
Health is the state of a person’s physical, emotional and social well-being. Healthcare exists to help people stay healthy and cope with disease and injury.
The term is also used to refer to the health of a society or a community. There is no agreed definition of health, and the concept has been interpreted in many ways. The World Health Organization defines it as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Other definitions include:
A person is considered to be healthy when he or she lives without serious diseases or disabilities and is able to achieve his or her potential. However, there is a growing awareness that the quality of life is not just related to the existence of diseases but also to the presence of non-disease features such as personal autonomy, social inclusion, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability.
In addition, there is increasing recognition that mental and physical wellbeing are closely linked, challenging the historical notion of mind-body duality. The link between them can be physiological, behavioural or social – for example through the stress response – and is bidirectional, with mental health influencing physical wellbeing and vice versa.
Health is the ability to perform all of the tasks that are required in everyday living, as well as to adapt to and learn from change. It is a complex and elusive concept, influenced by a number of factors including genetics, environment, behaviour and lifestyle. There are many factors that influence a person’s health and fitness, including nutrition, exercise and sleep. These are sometimes called ‘upstream risk factors’, as they can be more directly influencing than more ‘downstream’ behavioural and biomedical risk factors. These upstream factors are generally more difficult to identify and control, but they can have a significant impact on health outcomes.
The term ‘health’ is often misused and abused by people who are unwell. The media frequently use the word to describe an individual’s condition, which is usually negative. This can lead to unhealthy and unfair assumptions about the health of others.
For example, a 82-year-old woman (Person A) takes seven medications, has a 50-gallon fish tank and spends more time with her doctors than her grandchildren. Her doctor says she is in good health, but she feels that her life lacks meaning and fulfillment. She would escape from the first type of definition of health, but not the second.
A better way to define health would involve a shift away from the aim of avoiding disease and toward achieving a level of functioning that enables people to live long, fulfilling lives in whatever state they are in. This would require a more encompassing approach to medicine, which includes managing diseases and focusing on their prevention rather than simply treating them when they occur. This would be a radical departure from current practice, but it could make a difference to the health and wellbeing of the 617 million Americans over 65 today.
Health is the state of a person’s physical, emotional and social well-being. Healthcare exists to help people stay healthy and cope with disease and injury. The term is also used to refer to the health of a society or a community. There is no agreed definition of health, and the concept has been interpreted in many ways. The World Health Organization defines it as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Other definitions include: A person is considered to be healthy when he or she lives without serious diseases or disabilities and is able to achieve his or her potential. However, there is a growing awareness that the quality of life is not just related to the existence of diseases but also to the presence of non-disease features such as personal autonomy, social inclusion, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. In addition, there is increasing recognition that mental and physical wellbeing are closely linked, challenging the historical notion of mind-body duality. The link between them can be physiological, behavioural or social – for example through the stress response – and is bidirectional, with mental health influencing physical wellbeing and vice versa. Health is the ability to perform all of the tasks that are required in everyday living, as well as to adapt to and learn from change. It is a complex and elusive concept, influenced by a number of factors including genetics, environment, behaviour and lifestyle. There are many factors that influence a person’s health and fitness, including nutrition, exercise and sleep. These are sometimes called ‘upstream risk factors’, as they can be more directly influencing than more ‘downstream’ behavioural and biomedical risk factors. These upstream factors are generally more difficult to identify and control, but they can have a significant impact on health outcomes. The term ‘health’ is often misused and abused by people who are unwell. The media frequently use the word to describe an individual’s condition, which is usually negative. This can lead to unhealthy and unfair assumptions about the health of others. For example, a 82-year-old woman (Person A) takes seven medications, has a 50-gallon fish tank and spends more time with her doctors than her grandchildren. Her doctor says she is in good health, but she feels that her life lacks meaning and fulfillment. She would escape from the first type of definition of health, but not the second. A better way to define health would involve a shift away from the aim of avoiding disease and toward achieving a level of functioning that enables people to live long, fulfilling lives in whatever state they are in. This would require a more encompassing approach to medicine, which includes managing diseases and focusing on their prevention rather than simply treating them when they occur. This would be a radical departure from current practice, but it could make a difference to the health and wellbeing of the 617 million Americans over 65 today.