Definition of Health Essay

This assignment requires students to critically analyze different definitions of health, including those from WHO, Ottawa Charter, and ecological models. The essay argues that WHO's definition provides a comprehensive understanding of health by linking physical, mental, and social well-being. It also discusses the determinants of health and how they influence individual well-being.

Running head: DEFINITION OF HEALTH
DEFINITION OF HEALTH
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

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DEFINITION OF HEALTH
Health
Health and wellbeing is only not confined to the concept of absence of diseases, but a
complex combination of mental, physical and spiritual factors. This essay focuses on three
definitions of health and the rationale behind the best choice of definition.
WHO has defined health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not
merely the absence of a disease or infirmity (World Health Organization, 2018)." It means that a
person in a good health does not only refer to his physical well being or absence of any clinical
condition but also depends upon the mental as well as the spiritual well being of the person.
As discussed in the Ottawa Charter, health is defined as the extent to which a person or a
community is able to comprehend his/her objectives and persuade the needs to adapt with the
changes of the environment. The medical model of health considers the body to be a machine,
which needs to be fixed if broken. According to this definition, a body with sound health is
considered as a machine in good condition (Baum 2016).
The ecological definition of health refers it as a state in human and other living organisms
which assists them in interacting between themselves, such that they can coexist indefinitely
(Sallis, Owen and Fisher 2015).
The definition provided by WHO is the right choice of definition as it provides an idea
about the definition rightly links the physical health with mental health. It should be noted that
poor physical condition leads to poor mental health. There are a large number of determinants
that actually influences the health status of a person. Disease is just one of them. Mental

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DEFINITION OF HEALTH
satisfaction, self actualization, self reliance and self content provide the base of a good health. It
is also the environment and the circumstances that influence an individual’s health.

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DEFINITION OF HEALTH
References
Baum, F., 2016. The new public health (No. Ed. 4). Oxford University Press.
Sallis, J.F., Owen, N. and Fisher, E., 2015. Ecological models of health behavior. Health
behavior: Theory, research, and practice, 5, pp.43-64.
World Health Organization. (2018). Constitution of WHO: principles. [online] Available at:
http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/ [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018].