WHAT IS HEALTH ??? The word health means different things to different people, depending on the situation. If somebody says I was worried about my husbands health when he climbed Mt. Everest, it is clear that the woman is referring to her husbands physical health, possibly his heart, skin (frostbite) and risk of developing hypothermia (when the bodys temperature drops too low. On the other hand, if you hear the phrase With all these deadlines, presentations and working weekends, I wonder what the effect will be on her health, most likely the word health refers more to mental health than physical health (although the two are often linked). The words health or healthy can also be used in non-medical contexts. For example A healthy economy needs an ideal GDP growth rate that is sustainable, one that remains in the expansion phase of the business cycle as long as possible. The English word health comes from the Old English word hale, meaning wholeness, being whole, sound or well,. Hale comes from the Proto-Indo-European root kailo, meaning whole, uninjured, of good omen. Kailo comes from the Proto-Germanic root khalbas, meaning something divided. Medilexicons medical dictionary has three definitions for health, the first being The state of the organism when it functions optimally without evidence of disease or abnormality (click here to read the other two). World Health Organizations (WHOs) definition of health The most famous modern definition of health was created during a Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19-22 June, 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948. Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The Definition has not been amended since 1948. During the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in 1986, the WHO said that health is: a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. The Lancet questions WHOs definition of health An article in The Lancet states that health is not a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Neither is it merely the absence of disease or infirmity. The article says the WHO definitions of health will not do in an era marked by new understandings of disease at molecular, individual, and societal levels. (The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9666, Page 781, 7 March 2009).
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 17:17:15 +0000
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