PERFECT HEALTH

Health is a common theme in most cultures. In fact, all communities have their concepts of health, as part of their culture. Among definitions still used, probably the oldest is that health is the ‘’absence of disease’’. In some cultures, health and harmony are considered equivalent, harmony being defined as ‘’being at peace with the self, the community, god, cosmos’’.

Health is one of those terms which most people find very difficult to define although they are confident of its meaning. Therefore, many definitions of health have been offered from time to time. An alternative approach to positive health conceptualizes health not as an ideal state, but as a biologically ‘’normal’’ state based on statistical averages. For instance a newborn baby in India weighs 2.8kg on an average compared to 3.5kg in the developed countries, and yet compares favorably in health.  The height and weight standards vary from country to country, and also between socioeconomic groups. Many normal people show heart murmurs, enlarged tonsils and X-ray shadows in chest and yet do not show signs of ill health. 

Therefore, Health is a relative concept in the broad sense of the word. It does not merely mean the absence of disease or provision of diagnostic, curative and preventive services. The state of positive health implies the notion of ‘’perfect functioning’’ of the body and mind. It conceptualizes health biologically, as a state in which every cell and every organ is functioning at optimum capacity and in perfect harmony with the rest of the body; psychologically, as a state in which the individual feels a sense of perfect well-being and of mastery over his environment, and socially, as a state in which the individual’s capacities for participation in the social system are optimal.

Health is multi-factorial. The factors which influence health lie both within the individual and the society in which he or she lives. It is a truism to say that what man is and to what diseases he may fall victim depends on a combination of two sets of factors – his genetic factors and the environmental factors to which he is exposed. These factors interact and these interactions may be health-promoting or deleterious. Thus, conceptually, the health of individuals and whole communities may be considered to be the result of many interactions.

 In conclusion ‘’perfect health“cannot become a reality because man will never be so perfectly adapted to his environment that his life will not involve struggles, failures and sufferings. Positive health will, therefore, always remain a mirage, because everything in our life is subject to change.