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Theoretical Foundations of Health Education and Health Promotion 2nd Edition by Manoj Sharma,John Romas
Edition 2ISBN: 978-0763796112Theoretical Foundations of Health Education and Health Promotion 2nd Edition by Manoj Sharma,John Romas
Edition 2ISBN: 978-0763796112 Exercise 1
How has the World Health Organization defined health? Discuss the limitations of this definition of health.
Explanation
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The World Health Organization has defined health in the following way:
It is a state of the well being of the person in a physical, social, and mental approach and not only the absence of a disease or sickness.
The limitations seen in the above definition are:
• Health cannot be determined as a state of a person. It is a dynamic property and tends to change over time.
• The dimensions given in the definition are not enough. Some dimensions which are not mentioned are spiritual dimension, and political dimension. The questions which come under the spiritual dimension are whether there is a God who controls the health of a person or if the sense of fulfillment can lead to health. The question which comes under the political dimension is that whether the rich and poor are equally prone to sickness?
• It is a subjective definition. This is seen in the word well-being. A definition needs to be more objective and less subjective.
• We cannot measure health. Health is usually measured in the way one thinks about health. If a person thinks he needs to have a weight of 70 pounds to be healthy, he usually does not think about the BMI of his body.
• The above definition is idealistic but not realistic. The definition does not sound practical at all. It would not be possible to find a person to be perfect in all the aspects given in the definition.
• Health is not the end of life but a means. Most people do not think that being healthy is the end of life. But most people think that by being healthy, they can be a good parent and bring up their children.
• The above definition is not given with the community is mind but with an individual in mind. So the definition is not correct in this sense.
It is a state of the well being of the person in a physical, social, and mental approach and not only the absence of a disease or sickness.
The limitations seen in the above definition are:
• Health cannot be determined as a state of a person. It is a dynamic property and tends to change over time.
• The dimensions given in the definition are not enough. Some dimensions which are not mentioned are spiritual dimension, and political dimension. The questions which come under the spiritual dimension are whether there is a God who controls the health of a person or if the sense of fulfillment can lead to health. The question which comes under the political dimension is that whether the rich and poor are equally prone to sickness?
• It is a subjective definition. This is seen in the word well-being. A definition needs to be more objective and less subjective.
• We cannot measure health. Health is usually measured in the way one thinks about health. If a person thinks he needs to have a weight of 70 pounds to be healthy, he usually does not think about the BMI of his body.
• The above definition is idealistic but not realistic. The definition does not sound practical at all. It would not be possible to find a person to be perfect in all the aspects given in the definition.
• Health is not the end of life but a means. Most people do not think that being healthy is the end of life. But most people think that by being healthy, they can be a good parent and bring up their children.
• The above definition is not given with the community is mind but with an individual in mind. So the definition is not correct in this sense.
Theoretical Foundations of Health Education and Health Promotion 2nd Edition by Manoj Sharma,John Romas
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