Health is a state of physical, mental and social well-being in which disease and infirmity are absent.
Physical education, also known as Phys Ed., PE and in some Commonwealth countries as physical training or PT, is a class that pupils are required to take at school. It is taken during primary and secondary education and encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting to promote health.
Physical fitness is a state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities. Physical fitness is generally achieved through proper nutrition, moderate-vigorous physical exercise, and sufficient rest.
Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for disease prevention. Disease and disability are affected by environmental factors, genetic predisposition, disease agents, and lifestyle choices and are dynamic processes which begin before individuals realize they are affected. Disease prevention relies on anticipatory actions that can be categorized as primal, primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is the United States' largest philanthropy focused solely on health; it is based in Princeton, New Jersey. The foundation's goal, through the use of grants, is "to improve the health and health care of all Americans." The foundation has $11 billion in assets, generating grants approaching $500 million a year.
Health psychology is the study of psychological and behavioral processes in health, illness, and healthcare. It is concerned with understanding how psychological, behavioral, and cultural factors contribute to physical health and illness. Psychological factors can affect health directly. For example, chronically occurring environmental stressors affecting the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, cumulatively, can harm health. Behavioral factors can also affect a person's health. For example, certain behaviors can, over time, harm or enhance health. Health psychologists take a biopsychosocial approach. In other words, health psychologists understand health to be the product not only of biological processes but also of psychological, behavioral, and social processes.
Behavior change, in context of public health, refers to efforts put in place to change people's personal habits and attitudes, to prevent disease. Behavior change in public health is also known as social and behavior change communication (SBCC). More and more, efforts focus on prevention of disease to save healthcare care costs. This is particularly important in low and middle income countries, such as Ghana, where health interventions have come under increased scrutiny because of the cost.
Population health has been defined as "the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group". According to Akarowhe (2018), the working definition of population health is expressed thus; population health is an art, process, science and a product of enhancing the health condition of a specific number of people within a given geographical area - population health as an art, simply means that it is geared towards equal health care delivery to an anticipated group of people in a particular geographical location; as a science, it implies that it adopt scientific approach of preventive, therapeutic, and diagnostic service in proffering medical treatment to the health problem of people; as a product, it means that population health is directed toward overall health performance of people through health satisfaction within the said geographical area; and as a process it entails effective and efficient running of a health management/population health management system to cater for the health needs of the people. It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire human population. This concept does not refer to animal or plant populations. It has been described as consisting of three components. These are "health outcomes, patterns of health determinants, and policies and interventions". A priority considered important in achieving the aim of Population Health is to reduce health inequities or disparities among different population groups due to, among other factors, the social determinants of health, SDOH. The SDOH include all the factors that the different populations are born into, grow up and function with throughout their lifetimes which potentially have a measurable impact on the health of human populations. The Population Health concept represents a change in the focus from the individual-level, characteristic of most mainstream medicine. It also seeks to complement the classic efforts of public health agencies by addressing a broader range of factors shown to impact the health of different populations. The World Health Organization's Commission on Social Determinants of Health, reported in 2008, that the SDOH factors were responsible for the bulk of diseases and injuries and these were the major causes of health inequities in all countries. In the US, SDOH were estimated to account for 70% of avoidable mortality.
Health promotion is, as stated in the 1986 World Health Organization (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, "the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just the responsibility of the health sector, but goes beyond healthy life-styles to well-being".
Active living is a way of life that integrates physical activity into your everyday routines, such as walking to the store or biking to work. Active living brings together urban planners, architects, transportation engineers, public health professionals, activists and other professionals to build places that encourage active living and physical activity. One example includes efforts to build sidewalks, crosswalks, pedestrian crossing signals and other ways for children to walk safely to and from school, as seen in the Safe Routes to School program. Recreational opportunities close to the home or workplace, walking trails and bike lanes for transportation also encourage a more active lifestyle. Active living is a combination of physical activity and recreation activities aimed at the general public to encourage a healthier lifestyle.
Workplace wellness is any workplace health promotion activity or organizational policy designed to support healthy behavior in the workplace and to improve health outcomes. Known as 'corporate wellbeing' outside the US, workplace wellness often comprises activities such as health education, medical screenings, weight management programs, on-site fitness programs or facilities. A recently published article in Forbes Magazine states that according to the American Psychological Association, five elements should be considered in workplace to make it a healthy working environment. These five elements are work-life balance, health and safety, employee growth and development, employee recognition and employee Involvement. Workplace wellness programs can be categorized as primary, secondary, or tertiary prevention efforts, or an employer can implement programs that have elements of multiple types of prevention. Primary prevention programs usually target a fairly healthy employee population, and encourage them to more frequently engage in health behaviors that will encourage ongoing good health. Example of primary prevention programs include stress management, and exercise and healthy eating promotion. Secondary prevention programs are targeted at reducing behavior that is considered a risk factor for poor health. Examples of such programs include smoking cessation programs and screenings for high blood pressure or other cardiovascular disease related risk factors. Tertiary health programs address existing health problems, and aim to help control or reduce symptoms, or to help slow the progression of a disease or condition. Such programs might encourage employees to better adhere to specific medication or self-managed care guidelines.
College health is a desired outcome created by a constellation of services, programs and policies directed at advancing the health and wellbeing of individuals enrolled in an institution of higher education, while also addressing and improving both population health and community health. Many colleges and universities worldwide apply both health promotion and health care as processes to achieve key performance indicators in college health. The variety of healthcare services provided by any one institution range from first aid stations employing a single nurse to large, accredited, multi-specialty ambulatory healthcare clinics with hundreds of employees. These services, programs and policies require a multidisciplinary team, the healthcare services alone include physicians, physician assistants, administrators, nurses, nurse practitioners, mental health professionals, health educators, athletic trainers, dietitians and nutritionists, and pharmacists. Some of the healthcare services extend to include massage therapists and other holistic health care professionals. While currently changing, the vast majority of college health services are set up as cost centers or service units rather than as parts of academic departments or health care delivery enterprises.
The BC Healthy Living Alliance (BCHLA), formed in 2003, is the largest coalition of health leaders in British Columbia's history. As a non-partisan advocacy group, the BCHLA works with government and holds them accountable to promote wellness and prevent chronic disease.
The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria, originally funded by hypothecated taxation raised by the Victorian Tobacco Act 1987. It was the first health promotion body in the world to be funded by a tax on tobacco.
HealthCorps is an American non-profit organization that provides school-based and organizational health education and peer mentoring in addition to community outreach to under-served populations. Its mission is to strengthen communities by highlighting innovative approaches to health and wellness to build resilience in America's youth. Students learn life-saving skills in nutrition, fitness and mental resilience as well as hands-only CPR training, organ donation and more.
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust is a public trust created by the State of Oklahoma to manage any money from settlements or lawsuits against any tobacco company. Its creation can be attributed to a decision by Oklahoma voters in November 2000 to constitutionally set aside and protect the majority of settlement funds as an endowment trust fund. The statewide ballot question ensured that only earnings on investments from the TSET were to be spent and then only for tobacco prevention, cancer research, and other health-related programs. The Trust uses the money, through grants and programs, to improve the health and quality of life of all Oklahomans by funding programs and services that address, prevent and reduce tobacco use and obesity – health behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death in Oklahoma, cancer and cardiovascular disease. TSET has statewide grants, local community-based grants and public health education interventions that include Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline, Tobacco Stops With Me and Shape Your Future.
Lack of physical education is the inadequacy of the provision and effectiveness of exercise and physical activity within modern education.
Let's Move! was a public health campaign in the United States, led by Michelle Obama, wife of then-President Barack Obama. The campaign aimed to reduce childhood obesity and encourage a healthy lifestyle in children.
Obesity in North Africa and the Middle East is a notable health issue. In 2005, the World Health Organization measured that 1.6 billion people were overweight and 400 million were obese. It estimates that by the year 2015, 2.3 billion people will be overweight and 700 million will be obese. The Middle East, including the Arabian Peninsula, Eastern Mediterranean, Turkey and Iran, and North Africa, are no exception to the worldwide increase in obesity. Subsequently, some call this trend the New World Syndrome. The lifestyle changes associated with the discovery of oil and the subsequent increase in wealth is one contributing factor.
Oklahoma Governor's Council on Physical Activity and Sport is a council within the office of the governor of Oklahoma for the purpose of. In cooperation with the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, originated in 1991 by Executive Order of then Governor David Walters.
