What Is Health and How Does It Affect Us?
Health is the state of being free from disease or infirmity. The most widely used definition of health is that of the World Health Organization (WHO), which defines it as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This definition reflects the emergence of new concepts of health at societal levels in response to an understanding of health and illness processes at molecular levels.
Many factors can impact the health of a person or a community, including individual choices, genetic makeup and environmental conditions. For example, some people may choose to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and excessive stress, which can lead to poor health outcomes. Alternatively, people may be exposed to environmental conditions that can trigger or worsen their health status, such as air pollution and malnutrition. Often, both individual and environmental influences affect health in complex ways.
Throughout history, different cultures have conceptualized health in diverse ways. Some, like the ancient Greeks and Indians, emphasized a person’s relationship with his or her environment. Others, such as the medieval Muslim world and Renaissance Europe, viewed health as a state of symbiosis with one’s physical and spiritual environment. During the 20th century, as medical knowledge grew, many Americans conceived of health as a biomedical concept in which a person’s health was determined by the availability and quality of healthcare services. This view of health was reinforced by the development of medical infrastructure, such as well-baby clinics and hospitals.
A shift in thinking about the nature of health began in the 1980s with the emergence of a health promotion perspective fostered by WHO and other organizations. The focus of this movement was to improve a population’s ability to achieve its health-related goals, rather than to reduce or eradicate disease. This broad definition of health allows improvement efforts to include the full range of determinants of health, not just those that can be influenced by healthcare delivery or individual behavior.
Another key distinction between these differing approaches to health is how they approach a person’s experiences and perceptions of illness. For some, the most important aspect of health is its ability to support participation in society; for others, it is a person’s experience of suffering from or the severity of his or her symptoms and diagnosis.
Whether a health article is being written for an academic journal or a popular magazine, the information and tone of the piece should be tailored to the audience. Students might be interested in an overview of the latest scientific findings, while readers of a health-related magazine might want more detailed explanations about specific diseases and treatment options. Moreover, the publication for which an article is being written also has its own goals and expectations for health content. For example, a medical journal will require more rigorous research than an entertainment or lifestyle magazine. This is why it is crucial to conduct thorough and effective research when writing a health article.
Health is the state of being free from disease or infirmity. The most widely used definition of health is that of the World Health Organization (WHO), which defines it as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” This definition reflects the emergence of new concepts of health at societal levels in response to an understanding of health and illness processes at molecular levels. Many factors can impact the health of a person or a community, including individual choices, genetic makeup and environmental conditions. For example, some people may choose to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and excessive stress, which can lead to poor health outcomes. Alternatively, people may be exposed to environmental conditions that can trigger or worsen their health status, such as air pollution and malnutrition. Often, both individual and environmental influences affect health in complex ways. Throughout history, different cultures have conceptualized health in diverse ways. Some, like the ancient Greeks and Indians, emphasized a person’s relationship with his or her environment. Others, such as the medieval Muslim world and Renaissance Europe, viewed health as a state of symbiosis with one’s physical and spiritual environment. During the 20th century, as medical knowledge grew, many Americans conceived of health as a biomedical concept in which a person’s health was determined by the availability and quality of healthcare services. This view of health was reinforced by the development of medical infrastructure, such as well-baby clinics and hospitals. A shift in thinking about the nature of health began in the 1980s with the emergence of a health promotion perspective fostered by WHO and other organizations. The focus of this movement was to improve a population’s ability to achieve its health-related goals, rather than to reduce or eradicate disease. This broad definition of health allows improvement efforts to include the full range of determinants of health, not just those that can be influenced by healthcare delivery or individual behavior. Another key distinction between these differing approaches to health is how they approach a person’s experiences and perceptions of illness. For some, the most important aspect of health is its ability to support participation in society; for others, it is a person’s experience of suffering from or the severity of his or her symptoms and diagnosis. Whether a health article is being written for an academic journal or a popular magazine, the information and tone of the piece should be tailored to the audience. Students might be interested in an overview of the latest scientific findings, while readers of a health-related magazine might want more detailed explanations about specific diseases and treatment options. Moreover, the publication for which an article is being written also has its own goals and expectations for health content. For example, a medical journal will require more rigorous research than an entertainment or lifestyle magazine. This is why it is crucial to conduct thorough and effective research when writing a health article.