What Does It Mean to Be Healthy?
Healthful Vitality | 10/22/2021 | What Does It Mean to Be Healthy?
Even seemingly simple concepts like health or healthy may be pretty tricky to define. In fact, there is no global definition of it, and the word is interpreted differently by various people.
The most important thing to understand is that being healthy does not mean the absence of diseases or physical weakness. It means complete mental, physical, and social well-being. Thus, it has a much broader scope.
What Does WHO State about Health/Healthy?
WHO clearly states in its constitution that health is a fundamental human right. It means that it is the duty of every country, society to ensure that all people attain the highest possible health. People should be healthy and should be given access to complete healthcare without discriminating based on religions, race, social and economic status, and political beliefs.
Relationship between Global Security and Healthy People
If people are healthy, only then can the world become stable and prosperous. Therefore, global security greatly depends on how healthy people are in the various parts of the world. It also means that states should corporate with each other to ensure global health.
Moreover, any action taken by the state to improve health ensures the prosperity of all sections of society. On the contrary, unequal health is a major global threat. If some people are less healthy or have poor access to healthcare, they continue to live with diseases, especially communicable diseases and thus posing a threat to everyone.
Just take an example of the present pandemic of covid-19. Its high vaccination rate in developed nations is good, but low vaccination in economically deprived parts of the world is worrisome. Thus, Covid-19 cannot be eradicated without equal access to vaccination.
Further, staying healthy is not possible if children are not provided with access to some basic healthcare. However, for staying healthy, building clinics investing in healthcare is not just enough. It means totally changing the environment in which people grow. Therefore, people cannot expect to be healthy if various parts of the world are affected by calamities. Significant environmental and climate changes are going to affect everyone in the world. It means that taking care of the environment is equally essential for staying healthy.
Health in Improving Access to Knowledge
One of the mainstays of achieving health is improving access to knowledge. In most societies, people should have a basic understanding of human health, psychological requirements. Only then can one achieve a highly healthy society.
It is not possible to stay healthy without corporation between people and governments.
Of course, it is vital to have access to healthy food, and people should have a healthy lifestyle. But, again, in most cases, it is rather a lack of knowledge rather than a lack of resources, preventing people from creating a healthy society.
Finally, it is vital to understand the importance of mental health in staying healthy. Mental health issues have become increasingly important in every discussion related to health. Modern humans are living under immense mental stress. One cannot be healthy without having sound mental health. To conclude, the term healthy is quite complex. Therefore, it is best to view it in a broader context. The Healthcare system can help fight diseases but cannot essentially make people healthy.
(Related Article: Lifestyle Intelligence)