1. ‘Health is merely the absence of disease’
Read the statement below about health and discuss it with your partner.
Do you agree with it?
Write one statement to support your opinion.
‘Health is merely the absence of disease’

2. Lesson aims:
Discuss what is meant by the terms health and disease

3. ‘Health is merely the absence of disease’
Definition of Health
‘Health is merely the absence of disease’
World Health Organisation (WHO) definition
‘A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’
What does your textbook say?

4. If you are in good health, you are: Free from disease;
Able to carry out all the normal physical and mental tasks expected in a modern society;
Well fed, with a balanced diet;
Usually happy, with a positive outlook;
Suitably housed with proper sanitation;
Well integrated into society.
Textbook p160

5. Parasites and Pathogens
An organism that lives in or on another living thing, causing harm to its host
Pathogen:
An organism that causes disease

6. Immunity
Protection against disease provided by the body’s defence or immune system