What is Health and Wellness?

People's well-being depends on their health and wellness. Many individuals are unable to function properly and go by their daily lives when they are not feeling their best. However, people do not always have a personal definition of these terms, as the specifics vary per individual, nor do they have a plan for maintaining their health and wellness.

Health and wellness have a meaningful impact on everyone's lives. Health can be defined as an organism's emotional and physical well-being. Occupational health professionals advocate for health and wellness. Occupational health is an area of work in public health that aims to maintain the highest degree of physical health, mental health, and behavioral health. Health is promoted through good education, adequate nutrition, disease prevention practices, stress management including counseling, enough sleep, and proper exercise, among many other ways. It is also recommended to visit the doctor for preventative care. Doctors can perform routine physical exams and provide vaccines to prevent diseases. Staying healthy requires constant effort; however, most of the mentioned aspects are lifestyle choices that become routine. This means that wellness is something that can be pursued in order to have better overall health.

Another way to define health is that health is the absence of disease or disorders, combined with good physical, mental, and social well-being. On the other hand, wellness is choosing to live a healthy lifestyle, and it involves all the things that can be done to promote and achieve the desired good state of health. Of course, staying healthy depends on not only the person's style of life but also genes and the environment.

Create an account to begin studying Health
Used by over 30 million students worldwide
Create An Account

Health Topics

Environmental determinants of health

Learn what environmental health is. Understand the environmental health definition, environmental health issues, and various hazards to environmental health.

Substance Use

Learn the substance abuse definition and see how it differs from substance use. See causes of substance abuse. Find out how substance abuse is treated.

Resources for Health

Study.com offers thousands of accessible resources about health and wellness including topics such as social determinants of health, health and fitness, and health care, among others. Our resources about health and wellness have been designed for various grade levels and learning goals. The courses allow educators and students to set their own pace and access lessons to supplement in-class learning.

Health Courses

Learning about topics such as health science, physical health, and community health will provide a foundation with the building blocks to promote health and wellness. For example, having the capacity to understand medical terminology, safety and hygiene, first aid, CPR, and allergies, among other things is essential when promoting health and wellness. Access our engaging lessons, videos, and activities at any time.

Health 101: Principles of Health

This introductory course covers principles of health topics, including psychosocial health, physical health, and chronic diseases and disorders. Students can access the lessons any time, and the course can be transferred for up to 3 credits.
Health 103: Medical Terminology

This medical terminology course includes engaging lessons, videos, and activities that cover terms related to the planes of the body, internal organ systems, and pathologies, among others. Students can transfer up to 3 credits to various universities.
Immunology: Help & Review

This course covers fundamental components of the human immune system, infections, diseases, and the lymphatic system, among other topics. Students are able to access these fun and engaging lessons which are supplemented by videos and activities at any time.
Safety & Hygiene in Healthcare

The highly important topics of hygiene and safety are covered in this course, which has been designed for employees to learn about different workplace safety factors, hazards, basic hygiene, and infection control. Lessons can be accessed at any time.
Health and Wellness

This Health and Wellness Study Guide course covers the topics of nutrition, physical health, biochemistry, and more. Our engaging lessons, videos, activities, and mini quizzes can help students improve their personal health or increase their class grades.

For teachers and parents

Health and Wellness Lesson Plans for Teachers

Study.com offers hundreds of lesson plans, activities, and assignments to Health and Wellness teachers. Our comprehensive library of resources, including high-quality lesson plans and activities to supplement lessons, can be accessed at any time. These lessons can help students engage with the learning process.

Lesson plans
  • Health Lesson Plans & Activities

    This teacher resource collection can help teachers develop lesson plans for their health and physical education classes. The course offers lesson plan outlines and activities on topics like diet and nutrition.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the importance of health and wellness?

    Learning about health and wellness is important for maintaining overall well-being and preventing illnesses and diseases. To maintain health and wellness, it's recommended to avoid stress, maintain good nutrition, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep.

  • What is the definition of health and wellness?

    Health and wellness are essential components of an organism's emotional and physical well-being. Health and wellness are usually promoted by exercising, eating well, and getting enough sleep, among other ways.