Meaning and Importance of Wellness

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as "a state of physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease." Wellness goes further than this. Where health focuses on a person's illness status, wellness transcends the absence of disease - it is much more than physical health, exercise or nutrition. Wellness is the full integration of physical, mental and spiritual well-being, and it is about living a life of personal responsibility, taking proactive steps for one's entire well-being.

A person living a life of wellness actively controls the risk factors that can harm them. A risk factor is an action or condition that increases the chance of illness or injury - for example, smoking is a risk factor for lung cancer, and alcohol is a risk factor for liver damage. The well person deliberately removes such risks from their life.

Wellness is therefore an ongoing cycle: everything we do and every emotion we feel relates to our well-being, and our well-being in turn affects our actions and emotions. The WHO Health Promotion Glossary (2006) defines wellness as "the optimal state of health of individuals and groups," with two focal concerns - the realisation of a person's fullest potential physically, psychologically, socially, spiritually and economically, and the fulfilment of one's role expectations in the family, community, workplace and other settings.

Importance of wellness

• It makes the individual responsible for taking good decisions and adopting preventive practices for optimum physical, emotional and social functioning.
• Wellness programmes help a person understand lifestyle-related health issues - injuries, chronic diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes - and so enhance longevity and quality of life.
• It promotes good-health behaviours (quitting smoking, giving up alcohol abuse) and helps reduce social evils, encouraging positive values and good citizenship. …