What do you think of when you hear the word, ‘healthy’?
Do you think of someone who gets to the gym every other day and performs convoluted and challenging workouts just because ‘they can’?
Do you think of someone who monitors every morsel of food they put in their mouth, and who would sooner be caught shoplifting than eating anything containing sugar?
What about the person who is happily content with everything in their life, regardless of what they look like?
‘Healthy’ can mean different things to different people. The World Health Organisation (WHO) offers this:
Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity.
A term that is used for marketing purposes
While the WHO definition does mention mental and social well-being, most often, the term ‘healthy’ is usually used to refer to someone who is well (free from illness or disease) and who is a healthy weight.
Certainly, supermarkets, weight loss companies, fitness institutions and a host of other companies use the term ‘healthy’ to market their products — even if the ‘healthy’ aspects of the product are questionable.
With constant bombardment by the media’s skewed version of things, it is easy to become confused and lose sight of the bigger picture surrounding health.
Health is more than physical
Health or being ‘healthy’ is a complex issue. It’s quite possible to be healthy in some aspects of your life, but unhealthy in others. Sometimes, our mental health affects our physical health, and vice-versa. Sometimes we may feel healthy when we really are not.
To fully understand how good our overall health is, we need to understand what ‘healthy’ means — because it is far more than simply looking good.
‘Healthy’ is:
- Medically-related
Being healthy is being free from illness and disease. It means that your blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels, and blood pressure are all in the ‘normal’ range. It means that you are not at high risk of developing conditions such as cancer, diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
- About movement
Can you move your limbs without pain? Are you flexible? Can you perform daily tasks such as walking, climbing stairs, getting in and out of a car and pushing a supermarket trolley without help? Can you carry groceries, or a small child? Can you perform household chores? Being able to move your body is an important aspect of health. Being active on a daily basis (not to be confused with structured ‘exercise’) is vital.
- Weight-related
While weight is not the only indicator of health, it is an important one. Aesthetics aside, research shows that carrying too much weight puts you at higher risk of health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, osteoarthritis, back pain, sleep apnoea, gallstones and infertility. While no one should judge anyone purely on how much they weigh, carrying too much body fat is not healthy. The research is clear: if you carry too much body fat, you should try to shed the fat to improve your health. (Note the focus should be on losing body fat, not ‘losing weight’.)
- Diet related
Regardless of your weight, if you eat unhealthy food on a regular basis, your body is not likely to be healthy. Foods high in fat, sugar and salt, have a negative impact upon your health, and can lead to increases in blood pressure, hardening of the arteries (which increases risk for stroke and heart disease), and impaired insulin function — all of which increase your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. If your diet is low on fruits, vegetables, you run the risk of being deficient in a number of vital nutrients.Heavy alcohol consumption may lead to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, some cancers, long term brain damage and liver damage. As for smoking, evidence shows that this activity causes cancers, vascular disease, respiratory disease and other disorders.
- How you sleep
Do you get enough sleep? Do you have trouble sleeping? Is the sleep you get of high quality? Do you find it easy to get out of bed each day? Sleep is a vital component of your health. Without enough sleep, you can become fatigued and moody. You can also suffer impaired judgement, concentration and memory. Sleep deprivation or insomnia are linked to increased illness or morbidity.
- How your body functions
Our body is complex and consists of numerous biological systems in order for it to function every day. These systems are responsible for thousands of processes that most of us take for granted. The circulatory system moves blood, oxygen and nutrients around our body. The digestive system breaks down food to be absorbed by the body, and enables us to eliminate waste. The endocrine system is responsible for hormones that regulate bodily functions like metabolism, growth and sexual function. The immune system fights viruses and bacteria. Our lymphatic system helps fight infection. Our nervous system controls movement, including involuntary actions such as breathing. The muscular and skeletal systems enable our body to move. The respiratory system enables us to breathe. The urinary system eliminates waste from the body, and the reproductive system enables us to reproduce.If just one of these systems doesn’t function correctly, then it can have a huge impact upon your overall health.
- Your mental state
Do you feel stressed? Do you find that you are ‘too busy’ to relax or spend time with family and friends? Do you focus on the ‘negative’ in your life, rather than being grateful for what you have? The state of your mental health is important. Stress can contribute to health issues such as anxiety and depression, digestive issues and weight gain, insomnia, memory and concentration difficulties and it may increase your risk of heart disease. People who suffer from mental disorders such as anxiety and depression will tell you that the quality of their life suffers. Many focus on the physical aspect of health, but the way we think, feel and behave is just as important.
- How you talk to yourself
You may sleep well, be able to move your body with no problems, eat well and have no physical symptoms that you are unhealthy. You may even have a balanced life that is free from stress. Yet if you don’t have a positive self-image, then you are not ‘healthy’. Liking yourself, being proud of your achievements and seeing yourself in a positive light is vital for overall health and wellbeing. Constantly comparing yourself to others or to unrealistic ideals portrayed by the media is not healthy. Talking to yourself in a negative way or believing that you are ‘not good enough’, ‘too fat’, ‘too old’ or ‘too whatever…’ is no way to go through life. It does not promote happiness and it does not promote health.
So the question again…
What do you think of when you hear the word ‘healthy’?
How would you rate your overall health?
