What is Health?!?

The WHO definition of health dates back to 1946. It is stated as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. At the time, it was an applicable definition as it included somatic, psychological and social health. However, it fails to include imbalances within this definition.

Ideally, as per today’s outlook, there would be many unhealthy individuals (Charlier, Coppens, Malaurie, Brun, Kepanga, Hogang-Opermann & Herve, 2017). Ultimately, the WHO’s definition of health is extremely vague and has been criticized for as much. It fails to incorporate personal and social factors into the measure of one’s health.

The great divide in affluence and poverty in society highlights the importance of personal and social health factors and its implications for one’s capabilities to enjoy greater health. Huber et al. (2011) indicate that the current definition supports the medical technology and drug industries, to re-define diseases and expand the scope of the healthcare system. The technologies are now advanced enough to find minor issues via testing that will be deemed a person as unhealthy or with a disease. The definition’s completeness of one without illness or disease would continue to lead individuals to the paranoia of their health and affect their well-being (Huber et al., 2011).

Brooks (2017) suggests that is time for WHO to expand its definition of health to include acceptance and tolerance. Interestingly, Brooks (2017) suggests that primary health care professionals require a psychometric measure of health status to assess one’s tolerance and to encourage individuals to modify a harmful habits or lifestyle choices.

As per the literature and the current trends of health and well-being, it is important to understand the influences of health and well-being. A thorough of one’s social construct, wellness, and determinants of health is important in considering their capabilities and abilities to live a healthy lifestyle.

References

Brook. R. H. (2017). Should the definition of health include a measure of tolerance? JAMA, 317 (6), 585-586. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.14372 

Charlier, P., Coppens, Y., Malaurie, J., Brun, L., Kepanga, M., Hoang-Opermann, V., & ... Hervé, C. (2017). Original Article: A new definition of health? An open letter of autochthonous peoples and medical anthropologists to the WHO. European Journal Of Internal Medicine, 3733-37. doi:10.1016/j.ejim.2016.06.027

Huber, M., Knottnerus, J. A., Green, L., Horst, H. V., Jadad, A. R., Kromhout, D., . . . Smid, H. (2011, July 26). How should we define health? Retrieved from https://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4163