According to the World Health Organization, “health is a state of complete well-being, free from disease or infirmity”. Throughout history, many other definitions of health have been used. The World Healthy Organization’s definition is most common, but there are many other meanings of health. This article discusses the various definitions and their use. Listed below are a few common ones. To understand them better, consider the following.
The medical definition of health considered health as the absence of disease. However, in recent decades, newer models have emerged that incorporate social, psychological, and environmental factors. The World Health Organisation defines health as a state of complete well-being. The WHO also defines health as “physical, mental, and social well-being”. The concept of health encompasses an individual’s ability to cope with stress and acquire skills and to live a fulfilling and satisfying life.
The first definition of health is the complete state of wellbeing, or physical and mental well-being. This is a simplistic definition, because few people will be completely healthy all the time. Second, it’s counterproductive, because it fails to account for disabilities and chronic illnesses. Third, it neglects the human resource component of health and focuses only on the individual’s resources. Achieving a ‘complete health’ status means that the individual is physically, emotionally, and socially functioning.