Health is a state of overall physical, emotional and social wellbeing where disease and infirmity have no place. The definition of “health” as used in most countries today is broadly the same as that used in the United States. In the United States, the National Health Foundation (NHF) defines the state of “good health” as a state in which a person is free from all disease and incapacity and is physically active and mobile. A person is defined as having good health when he or she meets at least one of the following five criteria. That person is considered to have good health:
The five criteria are based on what is known as the Framingham Model which is a set of guidelines developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health care systems in the United States. The model is known as the Framingham definition because it was developed in Framingham, Massachusetts, in 1950. The model has been widely adopted throughout the developed world. It was later modified to include disability, as well as age, race, gender and socioeconomic status.
The purpose of the model is to provide a standard by which people can compare themselves to, and make changes to their own lives if they fall below any of the criteria. People who do not fit into these categories may be considered as having poor health. The model is not intended to be used by governments to determine what type of health care is necessary for their populations but is instead to be used by individuals and families as a guide for improving their health.
To be classified as “healthy”, an individual must meet a minimum number of criteria to be placed in a health care system. This number of criteria are usually based on the model itself and does not necessarily correspond to the BMI (Body Mass Index) category of the person.
The National Health Service in the United Kingdom and most health care systems in the United States recognize that overweight or obesity is not a pre-requisite for being healthy. The model however, assumes that any person of a given height, weight, and gender who are overweight is unhealthy. The models also assume that people who are obese have a higher risk of suffering from serious diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers and that are associated with being overweight.
Although the model focuses on health in terms of overall wellness, it does not require people to be overweight in order to lose weight. People can lose weight without actually being overweight. Some people choose to reduce their body weight in order to achieve a healthier appearance, while others choose to lose weight because of a serious medical condition that requires the loss of extra pounds. For example, some people choose to lose weight for people with diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, while other people choose to lose weight due to the emotional stress caused by weight issues.