Intro to Health

In the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, The World Health Organization defined health as "a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities."

The Health Triangle is the balanced representation of health as a whole. When one side of the health triangle is unbalanced the whole triangle is affected.

Overall health is a state of being free of physical or psychological disease, illness, or malfunction; something that is achieved through a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being, which, together is commonly referred to as the Health Triangle.

Each side represents one part of what it means to be human. There is the physical side, the mental side and the social side. The health triangle is there to help us understand that we cannot have success with one side of the triangle while the others are failing, for all 3 sides depend on each other.

If you are interested in starting taking good care of your health, you must think three-dimensionally. It is not enough to eat right and engage in physical activities. You must also do everything in your power to exercise your brain, think positive and find ways to improve your social life and condition.

Generally speaking, the frame of reference on how people live is of paramount importance on health status and quality of life. It is increasingly recognized that health is maintained and improved not only through the advancement and application of health science, but also through the efforts and intelligent lifestyle choices of the individual and society.

More specifically, key factors that have been found to influence whether people are healthy or unhealthy include:

• Income and social status
• Social support networks
• Education and literacy
• Employment/working conditions
• Social environments
• Physical environments
• Personal health practices and coping skills
• Healthy child development
• Biology and genetics
• Health care services
• Gender
• Culture

References - Health

• Aerobic Exercise and Endurance. Improving Fitness for Health Benefits; Wilmore, J., Knuttgen, H.
• Physical exercise, health; Wikipedia
• Experts challenge study linking sleep, life span; Rhonda Rowland.
• Concise guide to evaluation and management of sleep disorders; Reite M, Ruddy J, Nagel K.
• Promoting Mental Health: Concepts, Emerging evidence, Practice; WHO, the VHPF and the University of Melbourne.
• Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders; American Psychiatric Association.
• The enhancement of psychological wellness: Challenges and opportunities; Cowen, E. L.
• Social Health: An Attempt to Clarify This Dimension of Well-Being. Russell, R. D.
• Social determinants of health; WHO.
• A framework for evidence-based reviews of interventions for supportive social environments. Anderson L, Fullilove M, Scrimshaw S.
• Health psychology: mapping biobehavioral contributions to health and illness. Baum A, Posluszny DM.

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