A Statement about National Health Goals

Introduction

Facts About Health and Wellness

• Good health is of primary importance to adults in our society.
• Health varies greatly with income, gender, age, and family origin.
• Increasing the span of healthy life is a principal health goal.
• Health is more than freedom from illness and disease.
• Many illnesses are manageable and have only limited effect on total health.
• Wellness is the positive component of optimal health.
• Health and wellness are multidimensional.
• Wellness reflects how one feels about life as well as one's ability to function effectively.
• Health and wellness are integrated states of being.
• Health and wellness are individual in nature.
• It is possible to possess wellness while being ill or possessing a debilitating condition.
• Wellness is a useful term that may be used by quacks as well as experts.

Facts about Physical Fitness

• Physical fitness is a multidimensional state of being.
• The health-related components of physical fitness are directly associated with good health.
• The skill-related components of physical fitness are more associated with performance than good health.
• Metabolic fitness is a non-performance component of total fitness.
• Bone integrity is often considered to be a non-performance measure of fitness.
• The many components of physical fitness are specific in nature, but are also inter-related.
• Good physical fitness is important too, but it is not the same as physical health and wellness.

The Facts About Healthy Lifestyles

• Lifestyle change, more than any other factor, is considered to be the best way of preventing illness and early death in our society.
• The major causes of early death have shifted from infectious diseases to chronic lifestyle related conditions.
• Healthy lifestyles are critical to wellness.
• Regular physical activity, sound nutrition, and managing stress are considered to be priority healthy lifestyles.
• The change in causes of illness and the new emphasis on fitness, wellness, and healthy lifestyles has resulted in a shift toward prevention and promotion in addition to disease treatment.

The HELP Philosophy: The Facts

• The HELP philosophy can provide a basis for making healthy lifestyle change possible.
• A personal philosophy that emphasizes Health can lead to behaviors that promote it.
• Everyone can benefit from healthy lifestyles.
• Healthy behaviors are most effective when practiced for a Lifetime.
• Healthy lifestyles must be adopted based on Personal needs.

Strategies for Action: The Facts

• Self-assessments of healthy lifestyles will help you determine areas in which you may need changes to promote optimal health, wellness, and fitness.
• Initial self-assessments of wellness and fitness will provide information for self-comparison as you learn more about health, wellness and fitness.

Increase quality and years of healthy life.

Eliminate health disparities.

Increase incidence of people reporting “healthy days.”

Increase incidence of people reporting “active days.”

Increase access to health information and services for all people.