Health versus Wellness

 

While you cannot choose the state of health, you can consciously choose wellness by living your life responsibly and taking proactive steps for your well-being.

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• Health comprises the diagnosis of a disease/illness, predisposition to a disease, and any unexpected injury.

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• Wellness is an active process of growth and change to reach your fullest health and well-being. It is associated with actively pursuing activities, making choices and lifestyle changes, controlling risk factors that can harm a person, focusing on nutrition, having a balanced diet, and following spiritual practices that lead to holistic health.

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Risk factors are actions or conditions that increase a person’s risk of illness or injury. Some of the risk factors that can be harmful to good health are as follows:

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• Smoking: It is a major risk factor for lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

• Drinking alcohol: It can cause liver damage, stroke, heart diseases, and cancer.

• Unprotected sex: It spreads sexually transmitted diseases including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

• Extreme physical activity/sports: This may lead to broken bones and other types of injuries.