What does it mean to be healthy?- A New Definition of Health

(Health is a 21st Century Skill Lunch & Learn, 2018)

As healthcare professionals, the word health forms the whole basis of our profession and as human beings. Each New Year, we wish each other good health and prosperity, we use the saying “healthy and happy”, the question “girl or boy?” is often responded with “We don’t care as long as they’re healthy”.

With health being so important, how do we define this? The World Health Organization (WHO) updated their original definition of health in 1948 to state 

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” ("Constitution of WHO: principles", n.d.). 

However, with the ever-changing demographics of today’s society and the many factors that contribute to one’s health, there is a debate as to whether this definition is “enough”. In my opinion, the WHO’s definition expressing health as being a combination of factors and not simply related to whether illness or disease is present, is a step in the right direction. However, the use of the word ‘state’ refers to a situation that is temporary and the word ‘complete’ lends to a feeling of perfection, something unattainable as humans. In this case, would having a solitary moment where our physical, mental and social well-being are perfect mean that we are healthy?

That seems impossible to me. The WHO definition is no longer appropriate to the world we live in today.

In a blog post made on the British Medical Journal, Richard Smith writes

 “Could we, however, have reached a stage when the concept of disease has ceased to be helpful?... I’m not happy with health being defined as the absence of disease. Nor am I keen on the World Health Organisation’s definition… It’s a ludicrous definition that would leave most of us unhealthy most of the time.” (Smith, 2008). 

He further goes on to express “My favourite definition of the moment is Sigmund Freud’s definition, which was never written down by him, of ‘the capacity to love and work.’” (Smith, 2008).

As individuals, we each have our own opinions and ideas as to what it means to be healthy. Researchers, healthcare professionals and other experts in various areas including sociology, philosophy, economics and others have challenged “the old”, with an attempt to bring in a new definition of health. Jan van der Greef states in his 2011 article 

“In particular, the concept of 'one disease — one target — one-size-fits-all' is shifting towards more personalized medicine tailored to individual patients, including the use of multiple therapeutic agents and the consideration of nutritional, psychological and lifestyle factors when deciding the best course of treatment.” (van der Greef, 2011).

ZonMw is The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development, an organization through which Machteld Huber was awarded for her proposition of “positive health”; a new concept on what it means to be healthy. The concept of “positive health” refers to a person’s health being related to their ability to manage themselves and adapt to their surroundings. 

“Redefining health is an ambitious and complex goal; many aspects need to be considered, many stakeholders consulted, and many cultures reflected, and it must also take into account future scientific and technological advances.” (Huber, 2011). 

Huber and the organization have argued that the current definition in place by WHO is not all-encompassing. 

“Technological developments have also expanded the concept of disease, as more diagnostic techniques and treatments have become available. In other words, the definition may no longer be fit for purpose…The current definition allows no room for a dynamic approach to health or for ability to adapt.” ("Positive health - ZonMw", n.d.)

Our health is a constantly evolving ideology. One shaped by age, culture, gender, social, educational and physical environments as well as a never-ending list of other determinants. 

Is it really possible to find the perfect definition of health? Or is it life’s way of playing a joke on us? As we research, debate and stress to explain what it means to be healthy?

References:

Constitution of WHO: principles. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/

Health is a 21st Century Skill Lunch & Learn. (2018). [Image]. Retrieved from http://synerg.org/event/health-21st-century-skill-lunch-learn/

Huber, M. (2011). Health: How should we define it? British Medical Journal, 343,(7817), 235-237. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d4163

Positive health - ZonMw. Retrieved from https://www.zonmw.nl/en/research-and-results/positive-health/

Smith, R. (2008). Richard Smith: The end of disease and the beginning of health [Blog]. Retrieved from https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2008/07/08/richard-smith-the-end-of-disease-and-the-beginning-of-health/

van der Greef, J. (2011). Perspective: All systems go. Nature, 480(7378), S87. doi: 10.1038/480s87a