What is Health?

In 1948 the WHO described health as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” While I appreciate that the WHO strove for a more holistic view and measurement of health, by this definition could an individual actually achieve optimal health? Who makes the final decision on whether someone meets all the criteria? Who defines the criteria?

One contemporary and challenging issue in health care today is dealing with rising rates of obesity. Can someone be obese and meet the WHO’s definition of health if they do not have any disease or infirmity and they are mentally and socially “well”?

Explore these concepts in more detail here: https://haescommunity.com

Can our mainstream health care system ever adapt to a more body positive approach to health care delivery? Would it lead to improved health outcomes? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4386524/

Resources:

Penney, T. L., & Kirk, S. F. (2015). The Health at Every Size Paradigmand Obesity: Missing Empirical Evidence May Help Push the Reframing Obesity Debate Forward. American Journal of Public Health. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302552

Bacon, L. (2019). Retrieved from https://haescommunity.com/