What is WELLNESS? Wellness is the state of being in good health. Wellness is often associated with Quality of Life. Quality of Life refers to a person’s satisfaction with his or her looks, lifestyle, and responses to daily events. When people are in good health, they have a desire to stay fit and live a healthful lifestyle. They are energetic and have an enthusiastic outlook. They are successfully able to meet the challenges of each day. When people are NOT in good health, life’s events can become harder to manage. This causes decrease in quality of life.

Premature Death is death that occurs due to lifestyle behaviors that lead to a fatal accident or the formation of an avoidable disease. Optimum Health is a state of wellness characterized by peak physical, mental, and social well-being. Being free from illness and illness and having much energy indicate that you have a high level of physical wellness.

Physical Health refers to the fitness of your body. It requires numerous body parts to work in harmony. A number of factors can harm your physical health: Lack of sleep Eating too much or too fast Lack of physical activity Excess stress Poor sanitation Reckless actions Tobacco, alcohol and other drugs

Mental Health is related to the way you feel about yourself, your life, and the world around you. People with good mental health generally like themselves for who they are. They express positive attitudes and tend to act according to a set of socially acceptable values. Irrational fears, stress, and depression may be signs of a mental health problem.

Share concerns and problems with parents, teachers, counselors, or clergy members. These people may be able to help you better understand who you are and what you want to become. Building effective communication and problem-solving skills can go a long way toward helping you improve your mental health.

Social Health describes the way you get along with people. Friends and family members help enrich your life. Social health can be negatively affected when disagreements occur and problems arise. Learning to resolve conflicts with others is an important skill that can help you achieve and maintain good social health.

Holistic Medicine is an approach to healthcare that focuses on all aspects of patient care – physical, mental and social. It evolved because many medical doctors saw links among physical, mental and social health. A holistic approach to wellness is well - rounded. You need to be aware of your physical, mental and social health needs.

A risk factor is a characteristic of behavior that influences a person’s chance of being injured or getting a disease. Researchers identify risk factors by studying the traits and actions of large groups of people. Certain lifestyle habits, environmental conditions, and health care limitations are known to be risk factors you CAN control. Hereditary factors affect your risk of disease, too.

Factors that Contribute to Disease include: An Unhealthful Lifestyle Other Lifestyle choices Include decisions about Nutrition, stress manage- ment, and exercise.

Poor Environmental Quality – Environmental quality refers to the state of the physical world around you

Inadequate Health Care – Inadequate health care accounts for about 10 percent of the risk factors that contribute to the leading causes of death. A diagnosis is the identification of a disease. Failing to diagnose, or recognize, a disease early enough can interfere with effective treatment.

Heredity – Twenty-five percent of the factors that contribute to the leading causes of death are hereditary. You cannot change who your biological parents are. Likewise, you cannot change the genes you inherit from them. However, you can keep yourself in good physical condition

Health-Promoting Choices include: Choosing a Lifestyle which includes  Providing your body with fuel throughout the day by eating 3 or more regularly spaced meals, including breakfast.  Supplying your body with needed nutrients to support health, growth, and development.  Sleep 8 ½ - 9 ½ hours per night  Maintain a healthy weight  Stay active – at least 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week  Don’t smoke  Don’t drink alcohol  Don’t use illegal drugs or drugs not prescribed to YOU!

Resist Negative Peer Pressure – Peer pressure is the influence people in your age and social group have on your behavior. The desire to be accepted leads many teens to try activities their peers encourage. It can be positive or negative. Combating negative peer pressure requires self- confidence and being strong enough to just say NO!

Improve Your Environment – Carpool, use environmentally safe cleaning products, handling food carefully, working within the community to keep it safe. Choose Quality Health Care – Choosing quality health care will help you reduce health risks.

Nutrition is the sum of the processes by which a person takes in and uses food substances. Nutrients are the basic components of food that nourish the body. Today, scientists know of over 45 nutrients needed in the diet.

Dieticians and scientists use the scientific method to study nutrition and wellness. The scientific method is a 3-step process used to find answers to their questions: 1.Make observations 2.State a hypothesis 3.Devise experiments to test the hypothesis to determine if it is true. A theory is a principle that tries to explain something that happens in nature.

Studies show that many people in the United States are not following the most healthful eating and physical activity patterns. Fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar intake are higher than recommended. Life expectancy is the average length of life of people living in the same environment. Life expectancy in the United States is about 77 years.

Behavior Change Contract…