Health and Freedom

We all want to be healthy. Some of us are fortunate and are healthy even when we do not make any particular effort to be healthy. Some of us stay healthy when we strive to be healthy. Some of us are unfortunate and health eludes us. This is especially true in old age.

What is health? WHO defines it as achieving a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing. What is that we gain by staying healthy?

This may sound as a dumb question but as i ponder on it, i have more than one answer. The simplest would be health is required to indulge in pleasurable activities. An hedonistic approach which brings us face to face with the fact that most pleasurable activities when overdone result in ill-health!

Being healthy gives us economic liberty. This is government and societies view. Society benefits from healthy individuals who contribute economically. 

Being a human what is the greatest benefit of being healthy. Good health gives us freedom. The freedom to do the things one wants to do. This is only realized when one sees people in sickness from close quarters.  Paradigm changing events are at times related to surviving a life threatening disease. Because this enables one to choose rightly with the freedom one has.

The onus of staying healthy lies with the individual. It is individuals responsibility to stay healthy. But what can governments do to aid its citizens to stay healthy? How can societies promote healthy living?

Maternal health, sanitation, nutrition are some of the basic aspects which needs to ensured for all citizens. Health of children is another aspect. These are the foundation and must.

But what about health of adults and elderly? Can we create right incentives for them to stay healthy?

The question of freedom comes up again!!

I should have the freedom to smoke......

I should have the freedom to drink soda.......

I should have the freedom to eat junk food..........

The question of freedom, informed choice brings us to a conflict. 

Personally i do not believe in banning anything. At the same time i accept that human beings are not as rational as they appear. The choices we make may be detrimental to us and the society. Our ability to analyze information into knowledge and convert that into wisdom is restricted and limited. 

When such is our ability can we trick ourselves to lead healthy life. Guess so. Peer pressure, incentives from society, companies and government can probably modify our behavior.  

Reference:

1. Offline: Why governments should take health more seriously

2.What Big Soda Learned From the Marlboro Man

3. http://www.hdassoc.org/site/files/351/105796/364911/499774/Active_Policy_Attention.pdf