The word "health" derives from Middle English helthe, meaning hale, hearty, sound in wind and limb. Dictionary definitions allude to soundness and efficient functioning and give the same meaning to financial health as to bodily health. Modern medical practice and public health are concerned about the health of individuals and populations. However, for most individuals and for many cultures, health is a philosophical and subjective concept, associated with contentment and often taken for granted when all is going well. Health in this sense is difficult to describe or define, but its absence is readily recognizable, even when replaced by minor departures from an accustomed level of health.
Another definition, composed by specialists in preventive medicine, specifies some tangible components of health; calling it "a state characterized by anatomical, physiological, and psychological integrity; ability to perform personally valued family, work, and community roles; ability to deal with physical, biological, psychological, and social stress; a feeling of well-being; and freedom from the risk of disease and untimely death" (Stokes, Noren, and Shindell, 1982).
In the preamble to the constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) health is described as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." This description has often been criticized as being too vague.
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