This document discusses definitions and dimensions of health. It defines health as a multidimensional concept related to an individual's ability to cope with change. The key dimensions of health are physical, social, mental, environmental, spiritual and emotional. These dimensions interact in complex ways to determine a person's unique health profile. Achieving health and wellness requires making ongoing healthy lifestyle choices that consider influences from family, peers, media and culture.

1. Health and Wellness
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2. Definitions and
Dimensions of Health
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3. Definitions of Health
Health is the “capacity to lead a satisfying life, fulfill
ambitions, and accommodate to change” (Ottawa
Charter, World Health Organization, 1986).
 Health is:
• Specific to person’s life -- it is personal
• Dynamic, ever-changing process
• Holistic, not simply the absence of disease
• Related to quality of someone’s life
• Multidimensional
• Related to person’s ability to cope with the challenge of
change
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4. Dimensions of Health
 Health is multidimensional. The following are
the dimensions of health:
Physical Social Mental
Environmental Spiritual Emotional
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5. Dimensions of Health
 These dimensions are interdependent i.e., they interact
and overlap with each other to produce health
Physical
Environmental Social
HEALTH
Spiritual Mental
Emotional
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6. Dimensions of Health
 As these dimensions interact they produce a unique
health and wellness profile for each individual.
Physical
Environmental Social
Spiritual Mental
Emotional
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7. Health and Wellness in Adolescence
 Health and wellness is related to person’s
ability to cope with the many interactions and
transitions that are occurring in his/her life.
 Transitions specific to adolescence include:
– Increase in autonomy and individuality
– Increase in responsibilities
– Increase industry
– Intensification of relationships
– Changes in body structure
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8. Health and Wellness in Adolescence
 Dimensions of health that focus on
transition might fall under three
headings:
– Being, e.g. Who am I? Who am I
becoming as a person?
– Belonging, e.g. To what groups do I
connect with in a sense of belonging?
– Becoming, e.g. What accomplishments
am I striving for?
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9. Health and Wellness: A
Personal Journey
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10. Achievement of Health and
Wellness
 Not a single event, it is an ongoing process
 Making healthy choices (e.g., good nutrition) are
important guidelines to consider
vs.
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11. Achievement of Health and
Wellness
 Ultimately, it is up to each individual to
choose what combination of healthy choices
create a healthy balance for them
 Remember, do things in moderation. Too
much or too little of anything is a potential
problem
– E.g. Too little exercise=poor cardiovascular health
Too much exercise=weakened immune
system
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12. Approaches to Health and
Wellness
 Reactive or curative approach
– Worrying about your health only when sick. Not
asserting control over your health in the absence
of disease.
– Chris’ approach: “If your sick, take a few pills;
otherwise, have fun and enjoy yourself! I’ll quit
smoking later.”
– Example:
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13. Approaches to Health and
Wellness
 Proactive approach
– Adopting lifestyle habits that, in the long run, will
enable you to lead a more healthy life.
– Erin’s approach: “I am building for the future. What
I do for my body today lays the foundation for a
lifetime of involvement in healthy activities.”
– Example:
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14. Wellness: Your Personal
Responsibility
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15. Wellness: Your Personal
Responsibility
 Wellness is:
– Reflected in a way a person chooses to live his or her life
– Making informed choices and taking responsibilities for the
way we live our lives.
 Sense of wellness is influenced by the following
factors:
Family Media
Culture Peers
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16. Family Influences on
Health and Wellness
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17. Positive Family Influences
 Family positively influences your health, well-being,
and a general sense of satisfaction through:
– Education
• The advice your parents give you to
stay healthy
• E.g. “Wear a coat outside or you’ll
catch a cold”
– Values
• Family values can influence lifestyle
choices
• E.g. Families that value physical
activity introduce their children to
sports at early age.
– Support
• E.g. Emotional support during stressful
life events
• E.g. Financial and mental support to
pursue sports that will enable optimal
development
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18. Negative Family Influences
 Alternatively, family can have negative
influences on one’s health
– E.g. Families that push their children to compete for rewards
outside of the physical, mental, social, and spiritual benefits
of activity, can cause their children to withdraw prematurely
from participating in physical activity
– Example: Parent Sideline Rage
• Aggressive parents are
poor role models for their
children
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19. Media Influences on
Health and Wellness
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20. Positive Media Messages
 Mediamessages can be highly
motivational:
– E.g. Sports coverage in the media has
created role models that can motivate
children to pursue physical activity
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21. Negative Media Messages
 Unfortunately,
media also has to power
to encourage unhealthy choices:
– E.g. Commercialization of the body image
has distorted interpretation of healthy body
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22. Ideal Female Body Image
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23. The Reality Behind the Image
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24. Negative Media Messages
 Further,media has distorted
interpretation of what it means to be an
accomplished performer.
• Media coverage has some believe that the
pinnacle of achievement comes from beating
the competition, being the toughest, and
gaining multi-million contracts.
• However, wellness is about the journey towards
personal improvement and aspiring to achieve
your individual potential.
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25. It’s Up To You!
 In conclusion, images of the sporting
life can be motivational or cause
unhealthy distortions.
 Ultimately, it is up to each individual to
judge these images in relation to his or
her personal goals and values.
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26. Social/Peer Influences
on Health and Wellness
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27. Social/Peer Influences
 Participation in sport comes with social
benefits incurred in meeting new people
 As we have seen in Chris’ example
peer influences can be of negative
nature.
 Therefore, it is important to:
– Choose friends wisely
Resist negative peer
pressure
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28. Cultural Influences on
Health and Wellness
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29. Health in North America
 Views about health are understood differently
across cultures. North Americans tend to think
about disease from a scientific point of view.
– Western medicine deals largely with treatment of
organs and systems, in isolation from the
person’s mind and environment.
– Increasingly, a more holistic approach is
emerging.
• E.g. Recognition of the influence of personality on
cardiovascular health
• E.g. Recognition of the influence of environment on
obesity
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30. Health In Eastern and Aboriginal
Cultures
 In many non-western cultures, health has a strong
spiritual quality.
e.g., Oriental culture and chi e.g., Aboriginal culture and sweat lodge
 Therefore, disease is understood in terms of
individual’s spiritual harmony with oneself and/or
his or her environment.
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31. Putting It All Together
 Health is multidimensional
 One must make informed decision that
relate to all the various dimensions of
health
 Perspectives and decisions about
health are influenced by family, peers,
media, and the culture
 The journey towards health is lifelong
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32. ? Discussion Questions ?
1. What health problems do you predict Chris will face in the future?
2. What has guided Erin’s decisions to be smoke free, eat well etc.?
2. What kinds of supports from family, friends, and the community are
needed to adopt a healthy lifestyle?
3. How does culture influence views on what it means to be healthy and to
take care of your health?
4. What do you do if your friends have poor health habits?
5. Many people think healthy living means giving up a lot of things (giving
up high calorie foods, giving up spare time for workouts, giving up smoking
and drugs). What does living a healthy lifestyle enable you to do?
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