Overview of Health and Health Promotion

Definition of Health
The World Health Organization defines Health ” as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.
Wellness
“It is a more active state, oriented toward maximizing the potential of the individual, regardless of
his or her state of health”.
“Illness”
Most people have a medical view of illness as a disease, which is
a pathology affecting an organ or body system.
Traditional definitions would encompass traumatic injury and psychiatric disorders as well.
Concepts of Health
Health is a relative not an absolute concept.
A person can move from one category to the other from sick- well again in an absolute sense. So both health and illness are relative and exist in varying degrees.
Degrees of illness

A person with terminal cancer or end stage of renal disease is classified as “very ill”. While one recovering from
a surgery (cholecystectomy) is “less ill” another one with infections like mononuclessis as “mildly ill”.
Degrees of Wellness
A person with chronic arthritis may be classified as “mildly well” if functions minimally with his disease, while an old person who is functioning at an optimal level of wellness is classified as “well”.