The word health has a lot of different meanings. For some it’s something that encompasses body and mind, other people consider it to be something related to the quality of life and others look at it in a medical light. What I consider to be health is having a good balance of all of these things. It doesn’t matter if it’s just having good clean air to breath or being healthy and strong you should aim for this goal.
Health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is a state of full physical, mental and emotional well-being and not just the absence of sickness and disease. There are many ways to measure health and quality of life. One common way is through the use of life expectancy tables. These compare the age at which an individual can die at a given age to the average age for humans in their country. Different cultures have different health behaviors and certain health inequities appear because of cultural differences, but there are also large disparities for some diseases, like cancer and HIV/AIDS.
Poor health can also result from lack of access to health care or poor nutrition. If someone is not eating a balanced diet with a sufficient amount of fruits and vegetables, they aren’t getting enough nutrients and aren’t staying healthy. Practices like smoking and drinking contribute to poor health and prevent healthy individuals from living well. Smoking causes thousands of deaths and over time is associated with many different health problems including heart disease and cancer. Alcohol consumption also contributes to poor overall health, especially in young adults and people with poor socioeconomic status.
Mental health includes a person’s ability to think and reason properly and cope with daily activities. It also involves physical health. If you don’t feel good about your physical health you will have trouble getting through the day or going to work because you are self-conscious and your mental well-being is suffering. A good mental health plan ensures that you are getting the best possible care to improve your mental well-being.
As an individual gets older, both their physical health as well-being deteriorates. As a result, the ability to enjoy life diminishes as they become less mobile and independent. Many researchers now believe that anti-aging strategies, including improving nutrition and exercise, can be effective in slowing the aging process down and preserving or enhancing quality of life even for individuals who are decades or even a life-time older. The best way to get your public health program started is through a comprehensive wellness plan that encompasses your entire lifestyle. This way, you can target particular aspects of your life such as your diet and fitness to ensure that you are getting the most out of your physical and mental health programs.
Getting older is a natural part of life but if you can’t enjoy it, how can anyone else? In this world where illness is the silent killer, maintaining a good health can be the difference between a good health and a mediocre health. A good physical health program and mental health plan go hand in hand for the optimal functioning of your body and mind. Both should be taken seriously for you to reap the benefits of good health.