The Purpose of Defining Health

Health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is a condition of “complete physical, mental and emotional well-being and not just the absence of illness and infirmity”. Various definitions have been applied to health throughout the years. According to one school of thought, health is subjective and individual; another teaches that health is objective and measurable through a standard set of measurements. The medical community uses many methods to define what type of health a person has.

A common definition is a state of full well-being with absence or minimal interference with normal functioning. In this sense, some diseases such as cancer are not considered diseases at all because the absence of symptoms does not indicate a problem. There is a big difference between a disease state and a non-disease state. A patient who experiences any kind of discomfort, pain or discomforts may be having a disease. This is because it is a different way of assessing health.

In order to achieve a good health, you need to get rid of illnesses once you are diagnosed with them. The definition of a disease is normally something that is a combination of symptoms like pain, discomforts, loss of functions and disability. These symptoms are associated with an actual physical illness. When you experience any of these symptoms, you need to seek medical attention as soon as possible so that your condition can be treated.

A second definition for health would say that it is the state when all three of these first symptoms are present. That way, you would be treated for the disease, receive appropriate medical attention and be cured if the disease is serious. It could also be said that to achieve good health would include being in good health.

Some definitions for public health include a life course definition. It states that the life course of humans determines their susceptibility to diseases and the frequency of occurrence of diseases. For example, some people are more prone to diseases than other people. Life course definitions are used in different contexts like for understanding the patterns of diseases in society, the development of immunity against diseases and the prevention of diseases.

An example of such a definition is the Nettle Leaf definition. According to this definition, the Nettle Leaf is considered as a superfood. People from a remote area in Africa can consume this leaf on a daily basis without any side effects because it is very powerful as a medicine. This superfood has been used by the people of Africa for centuries to cure all kinds of diseases. Hence, it can be concluded that the purpose of creating such health definitions is to provide a common sense approach in defining health.