What is health and how do we define it? The World Health Organizations defines health as
“a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organization, 1948)
Yet another definition of health defined by Norma Sartorius is “The third definition states that health is a state of balance, an equilibrium that an individual has established within himself and between himself and his social and physical environment.”
(Sartorius, 2006)
The differences in these two definitions of health are based upon objective and subjective experience and knowledge. The idea that health is determined by the “complete” physical, mental, and social well- being is one dimensional and objective with the belief that a health care professional determines a person’s health by implying the exclusion of illness. The latter definition takes into consideration the person’s ability to cope with illness and his over all quality of life. Every individual is the expert on themselves and can determine with autonomy their own idea of what health or being healthy means.
Thinking about health in terms of age and illness puts into perspective the idea of healthy and how it is defined in our society. Do deduce that because a person is elderly that they are inherently not healthy? As a natural part of aging and the process of an aging body there are some diseases that can come with age such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and osteoporosis. A great article titled “Its time to change the definition of health” by Cara Fallon and Jason Karlawish take on this concept about aging and health, stating that the two are not mutually exclusive.
“Today, managing disease, not solely its absence, is a means to a healthy life, especially for older adults. Rather than pursuing the “absence” of disease, we need a more inclusive definition of health — one that works for more people — rather than categorically excluding an entire segment of the life course” (Karlawish, 2019)
The articles states that with the advancement of health and detecting health problems sooner, people are better able to manage their chronic illness with little to no symptoms. Living a relatively symptomatic free life a person may consider themselves as healthy depending on how they define health. Is health only for the young? What if you are born with a chronic illness or a genetic disorder are you then categorized as an unhealthy person for the remainder of your life? We need to broaden our definition of health to also include a person’s subjective idea of health and how they feel they can manage their illness. I do not think that it is realistic to define health as the “complete” physical, mental, and social well-being of an individual. To me this implies the idea of perfection, which is an unrealistic goal to aim for and often leaves individuals feeling less then or like a failure if they are unable to meet these expectations. At times this can lead to a person feeling defeated and perhaps paying less attention to aspects of their health as they are reaching for an unattainable goal and are left with the “what is the point” type attitude.
I think that we certainly have room to redefine health and what the definition of health is for each individual. I think that we need to consider that we are all individual, our ideas of health and what makes a person healthy are as unique as we are.
Karlawish, C. F. (2019, July 17). Its time to change the definition of health. Retrieved from Stat: https://www.statnews.com/2019/07/17/change-definition-health/
Sartorius, N. (2006). The Meaning of Healtha and its Promotion . Croatian Medical Journal, 662-664.
World Health Organization. (1948, April). Retrieved from who.int: www.who.int
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