WHO describes health as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (World Health Organization). This definition was created in 1948 and has not changed since. Merriam-Websters dictionary describes health as “the condition of being sound in mind, body or spirit”. But do these definitions meet the current knowledge for what we determine Health is?
If you research what Health is you can see both that you likely get a variety of different definitions depending on where you look. Although there are many directions which Health can be viewed most resources agree on a couple things: 1. The WHO definition is outdated and quite limiting in its parameters when taking into account what we know and applying it to every context and 2. That Health needs to encompass an ”Ability to Adapt” (Lancet, 2009).
So what is health if not physical, mental and social wellbeing? Is someone truly healthy if they set the bar at just being absent of disease? In short, no; health is a wide continuum that you float on from day to day, and a multitude of complexities that go into where you are on it at any given time. Health is both objective and subjective, quantifiable and indeterminate. But to summarize it as best we can I find it easiest to use the 5 method model.
When looking at health I find assessing five aspects to be a great start in determining where you sit on the continuum.
1. Mental Health: The ability to handle stressors that come up in ones life and still make calculated and sound decisions.
2. Emotional Health: Your perceived view of yourself and ability to control your thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
3. Physical Health: Your ability to handle demanding tasks and the proper functioning of your muscle, bones and organs.
4. Spiritual Health: your believe in your values and what you hold important to your life (this can include your beliefs in God but does not have to).
5. Social Health: your connection to others and your ability to form mutually beneficial relationships and be connected with natural supports within your community.
Each of these has a variety of different factors and measures and together they help you be well rounded and encompass what Health is (Health Context, 2015)
As no two people are alike in both experience and situation the X factor for Health is our ability to adapt. Adaptation to change, adaptation to stressors, our limits, constant review of our abilities and disabilities, is necessary in proper functioning within our environment and staying Healthy. Each of these aspects must consider adaptation within them as nothing stays the same.
I will not explore the intricacies of each of these areas in depth nor go into how adaptation affects each area specifically at this time but instead just highlight that Health is a constantly changing measure of how others see us, how we interact with the world, and how we view ourselves. Although the WHO definition tackles the basic aspect of health the definition fails to encompass the uniqueness of the human experience and the ability to adapt to changes. “Health” may never be able to be narrowed down to a “one definition fits all” model, however, modifying it to encompass a more well rounded assessment of someone’s life as well as the addition of the importance of adaptation in reassessing Health and what it means is a good start.
Brayden Sharp-Chrunik, BSc.
Resources:
Canguilhem, G. (2009). What is health? the ability to adapt. The Lancet, 373(9666), 781. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60456-6
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, 37, 33–37. https://0-doi-org.aupac.lib.athabascau.ca/10.1016/j.ejim.2016.06.027
Health Context. (2015). What are the 5 aspects of health and some ways of maintaining good health. Retrieved February 12, 2019, from https://healthcontext.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/what-are-the-5-aspects-of-health-and-some-ways-of-maintaining-good-health/
Merriam Webster. (2019). Health. Retrieved February 11, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/health
World Health Organization. (2019). About WHO. Retrieved February 10, 2019, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/health
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