Raeburn And Rootman's Definition Of Health

"You are getting way too skinny!", "What do you want to be a bodybuilder?", and "You need to start eating more.” These quotes are ones which I have heard over the past few years. I started my health journey 5 years ago at age 15; I had reached 160 lbs and I decided to change my lifestyle. I was overweight and at that age, you would hear comments endlessly. I started to go to the gym in the summer every single day and kept track of every meal in order to lose weight and shed off those pounds. But, as every single weight loss story goes, once school started I stopped going to the gym. At age 16, I cut out meat, sugary drinks, and fast food (McDonalds, Burger King, etc) because I started to think about what I ate rather than what I physically …show more content…
Currently, the most accepted definition of health was by Raeburn and Rootman, who stated at the 2007 Bangkok Charter that health is the process of facilitating one to increase control over their health and its determinants and thereby improve their health (Manafo, 2016). This definition takes into account that health is a resource which is used to achieve a healthy life status, and how to promote it. In addition, it focuses on the importance of equity and that there are health determinants that people may …show more content…
My parents lived most of their youth and early adulthood back in Ghana were the lifestyle included a lot of walking, selling door to door, 3 meals per day, daily interaction with family and friends. You could say they were most happy and healthy back home due to having social support and their culture which helped them strengthen every aspect of health. However, immigrating to Canada with my two older brothers and becoming citizens it required them to adjust to a whole new lifestyle. They received better income, healthcare, and overall resources. However, when working from 9-5, less family interaction, the stress of bills, and making ends meet it took a toll on them. They were given a better health care system and food security but were limited the culture they used to experience. This, in turn, limited their community interaction and caused their overall health status to be limited. My early definition of health would be to free of ill health, but as I watched my parents grow older I realized it was more than that. My siblings always looked into their health, however, we began to provide them the more of a culture and family support as they would have back home, we watch their eating, and even got them to start going to the gym. Their overall wellness of the spirit, body and mind it impacted by larger factors to keep everything in