What Is The Definition Of “Health”?

Health, according to the World Health Organization, is “a condition of full physical, emotional and social well being and not just the absence of illness and disease.” A number of definitions have also been used over the years for different medical purposes. In its modern sense, the definition includes a person’s complete physical, emotional, social, and psychological wellbeing. It also includes the ability to cope with normal stresses and cope with changes in ones routine and life style. By this definition, all those who have experienced life under some form of stress and those who have recovered from it can be considered as having health. This definition excludes mental illness, though people who suffer from mental illnesses have also been deemed as having good health.

Good health is a sum of all the individual components of well-being. These components may include emotional, physical, mental, social, and ecological factors. Mental illness is included under the concept of environmental factors because certain mental disorders tend to manifest themselves in certain situations and environments. Stress tends to bring out symptoms of mental illness and the environment likewise plays an important role in whether or not someone develops physical illness as well as other serious diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes.

The definition of “life expectancy” has also undergone major alterations over the years. Life expectancy, according to healthcare experts, means the number of years a person is expected to live. In developed countries, the life expectancy of an adult is about seventy-five years of age. Life expectancy varies from country to country, but in most cases it is around seventy years.