1.2: What Does It Mean to Be Healthy?
First, we should probably define what health is. If we are not sick, does that mean we are automatically healthy? This perspective is called the medical model ; that is - looking for any disease or injury to treat. If none are found, the patient is deemed “healthy”. They may not feel or function their best in every area, but as long as they don’t have a diagnosable disease or injury then they are considered healthy. This model leaves out everything besides illness, and doesn’t recognize varying degrees of healthiness - or how a person might not just want to be “ok” but to optimize their health in different areas. It also doesn’t take into account a person’s own perception of their health, or their health-related-quality of life (which we’ll discuss more below). Apparently the medical model doesn’t accurately describe the entirety of health, much less a sense of well-being.
The World Health Organization provides a more comprehensive definition of health:
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
( Constitution of the World Health Organization , n.d.).
This definition recognizes that in order to truly thrive, a person has health needs in multiple dimensions, and these needs are beyond preventing or treating illness. These dimensions include physical, mental/emotional, intellectual, social, environmental, and occupational health. For example: someone might not have a clinical depression diagnosis, but they could be experiencing loneliness that prevents them from feeling their best mentally and emotionally. They still need to nurture and enjoy relationships with friends and/or family members in order to feel their best. They may not have any bodily disease or injury, but they feel and function better when eating a balanced diet and getting some daily physical activity.
This person needs a job that supports your cost of living, and a place to live where they feel safe and they’re not exposed to environmental hazards. Thus, a state of well-being is not only above and beyond the medical model of health, it’s also somewhat subjective because it’s based on our own experience. In order to measure well-being, we might ask folks to tell us about their quality of life (QOL) or health-related quality of life (HQOL) . These two subjective measures can vary in different dimensions. And just because someone is living with a chronic condition or disability doesn’t mean they can’t experience well-being. Different folks may need more support in certain areas; like accessible walkways and restaurants, affordable medication, or well-trained personal aides.
Health and well-being are probably better represented by a continuum. On one end of the continuum a person can experience the highest health-related quality of life, the other end is marked by illness or death. Different factors like genetics, behaviors, and environment can move that person’s health and HQOL either direction along the continuum (see Fig. \(\PageIndex{1}\)). By having a more holistic definition of health and/or focusing on improving well-being, we can work towards a better life experience for ourselves and those around us ( Well-Being Concepts , CDC. n.d.).