The Concept of Health

Edited by
Ratna Farida
Definition of Health

Health is defined in the WHO constitution of 1948
as: A state of complete physical, social and mental
well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.

together sometimes referred to
as the health triangle
Health
is a resource for everyday life, not the object of
living.

It is a positive concept emphasizing social and
personal resources as well as physical capabilities.



the Ottawa Charter emphasizes certain
Pre-requisites for Health which include:

* peace,
* adequate economic resources,
* food and shelter, and
* a stable eco-system and sustainable
resource use.
There is a link between:
social and economic conditions,
the physical environment,
individual lifestyles and health.
Health
is the level of functional and (or) metabolic efficiency
of a living being.

In humans, it is the general condition of a person in
mind, body and spirit,

usually meaning to being free
from illness, injuryor pain (as in good health or
healthy).
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

3 interdependent fields as key determinants of an
individual's health:
Lifestyle: the aggregation of personal decisions (i.e.
over which the individual has control) that can be
said to contribute to, or cause, illness or death;
Environmental: all matters related to health external
to the human body, and over which the individual
has little or no control;
Biomedical: all aspects of health, physical and
mental, developed within the human body as
influenced by genetic make-up.

Study suggested that people can improve their
health via:

exercise,
enough sleep,
maintaining a healthy body weight,
Avoiding smoking
The environment is often cited as an important
factor influencing the health status of
individuals. This includes characteristics of:

the natural environment,
the built environment, and
the social environment
Public Health
as "the science and art of preventing disease,
prolonging life and promoting health through the
organized efforts and informed choices of society,
organizations, public and private, communities and
individuals
The focus of public health interventions is:
to prevent and manage diseases, injuries and other
health conditions through surveillance of cases and
the promotion of:
healthy behaviours, communities and environments.

ORAL HEALTH

What is Oral Health?

Oral health means being free of chronic mouth and
facial pain, oral and throat cancer, oral sores, birth
defects such as cleft lip and palate, periodontal (gum)
disease, tooth decay and tooth loss, and other diseases
and disorders that affect the mouth and oral cavity.

Risk factors for oral diseases include unhealthy diet,
tobacco use, harmful alcohol use, and poor oral
hygiene.



What are Common Causes of Oral Diseases?

Oral diseases share common risk factors with the four
leading chronic diseases:
cardiovascular diseases,
cancer,
chronic respiratory diseases and
diabetes,

including :
unhealthy diet, tobacco use, and harmful alcohol use.
Poor oral hygiene is also a risk factor.


Oral Health Facts

The most common oral diseases are dental cavities and
periodontal (gum) disease.

60-90% of school children worldwide have dental cavities.

Severe periodontal (gum) disease, which may result in
tooth loss, is found in 5-20% of middle-aged adults; the rate
varies across geographical regions.

Incidence of oral cancer ranges from one to 10 cases per
100 000 population in most countries.

Birth defects such as cleft lip and palate occur in
around one per 500-700 of all births; the birth
prevalence rate varies substantially across ethnic
groups and geographical areas.

40-50% of people who are HIV-positive have oral
fungal, bacterial or viral infections, which often
occur early in the course of HIV infection.

Traditional curative dental care is a significant
economic burden for many high-income
countries, where 5-10% of public health
expenditure relates to oral health.




WHO Activities for Integrated Prevention of Oral
Disease and Health Promotion

The public health solutions for oral diseases are most effective
when they are integrated with other chronic diseases and
with national public health programmes. The activities of the
World Health Organization (WHO) span advocacy, prevention
and treatment:

Advocacy for a common risk factor approach to prevent oral
and other chronic diseases simultaneously;

Fluoridation programmes to improve fluoride access in low-
income countries;

Technical support for countries that are integrating oral health
into their public health systems.


Water, the Secret to Life
What is the one thing that every living organism here
on earth contains? WATER. Water is essential for life
to exist and it is so important that it is the first thing
scientists look for when exploring a foreign planet.
Why? Because without water there is no life.


Did you know that a person could survive
without food and still sustain life for many days
and possibly a couple of weeks? But that same
body will parish in a matter of a few short days if
there is no water to be consumed.

This is because the human body is composed
mostly of water and without proper hydration
we wither away much the same as a flower
that is deprived of water. For the lack of a
better term, life is water!
What is water?
It is important to understand that all water is not
created equally. On a strictly scientific level, water
can be described as H2O. This symbolizes the two
elements that water is comprised of, two hydrogen
atoms and one oxygen atom.
Ingesting 8 glasses of water per day as
recommended by most professionals is
important;

Life revolves around water, but healthy life
revolves around healthy water.

Instead of saying you are what you eat, perhaps
we should be saying, you are what you drink.

Oxidation and Antioxidants
Too much of anything can be a bad thing. This holds true even
in the air we breath. About two percent of the oxygen we
breathe in becomes what is known as active oxygen and this
amount can increase to as much as 20 percent with aerobic
exercise.

These become free radicals in the body and will have the
potential to steal electrons from other cells, which can be
useful if these free radicals are attacking a virus or bacteria in
your body. Problems arise though when too many of these
free radicals are set loose and begin to attack things that they
shouldnt, namely normal tissue. This is known as the
oxidation of normal tissue.


Because this can be a problem and leave us
susceptible to sickness and disease, it is essential
for us to figure out a way to keep these free
radicals from harming our tissue. One way is with
the use of antioxidants. Antioxidants can be found
in many healthy supplements such as vitamin C,
vitamin E, beta-carotene, selenium and some
amino acids. These antioxidants are called
reducing agents and have the ability to supply the
needed electrons to the free radicals and thus save
the tissue from being attacked. While it is true that
a balanced diet is an effective way to supply the
body with the needed antioxidants, there is a
better way.
The Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs)

are eight international development goals that
all 193United Nations member states and at
least 23 international organizations have
agreed to achieve by the year 2015.

The goals are:

eradicating extreme poverty and hunger,
achieving universal primary education,
promoting gender equality and empowering
women
reducing child mortality rates,
improving maternal health,
combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other
diseases,
ensuring environmental sustainability, and
developing a global partnership for
development.

Keep Healthy Life