What is the Meaning of “Health” in General?
Health is an overall condition of mental, physical and social well Being where infirmity and illness are absent. Different definitions are used over the years for different purposes. However, many people still have this belief that “health” means weight, height, cholesterol and blood pressure. This is the reason why some people think that they are not healthy even if they do not have any chronic illnesses in their family history. However, health is the state of complete well being, which means complete physical and mental wellness.
According to the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, the following definition is: “health”: having sound health; sound body; being in good health. This definition is more accurate in some aspects because a person with no disease, but poor health can be described as having sound health but is overweight or obese. But in most cases, it is not good health or normal health that is being discussed or spoken of but only sound health.
The definition is also related to the definition of “wellness” which states that the ability to carry out an active process of living, with full active participation and involvement of the person. The active process of living means the process of the body and mind that make up a person’s life. With full active participation, it means that the person is involved in the cause, outcome and development of their physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social well being.
In the previous decades, the definition of well-being has been associated primarily with the concept of morbidity, which is a decrease in the capacity of the body and mind to achieve wellness. At this time, the wellness definition should be considered as the new morbidity definition because it shows the general population an increasing trend of decreasing well-being. It shows that the decline in well-being is due to the decrease in the active process or capacity of the human mind and body. It is believed that this is the result of the unhealthy lifestyles and the sedentary lifestyle that are prevalent in the general population.
When we consider the physical well-being, we find that it is associated with the absence of sicknesses and diseases. We find that the absence of disease is associated with a healthy body functioning, healthy body weight, and a good health status. A healthy body weight implies that the person is carrying the right proportion of their body weight towards their skeletal system. Healthy body weight is necessary so that the person can attain a slim appearance and high level of confidence as they approach the older age of going through puberty. It is also important for a slim appearance and high level of confidence when the person is going through the adolescent years because the appearance of these adolescents are affected by the health problems of the world, the economy, the food habits and the fashion.
It is very clear that the sickness and diseases that we experience are directly related to the lack of healthy eating habits and the lack of exercise. The other two definitions which are first and second are associated with the causative agents of the disease. In other words, a healthy lifestyle contributes positively to a healthy status while a poor lifestyle contributes negatively to a sickly status.