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. 2021 May 12;8(2):146–156. doi: 10.1007/s40572-021-00313-9
Health is defined by the WHO [24] as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Importantly, the WHO’s definition of health highlights factors that cause disease (pathogenesis), as well as those factors that promote health and well-being (salutogenesis). The definition of health includes three separate aspects of well-being. Physical well-being refers to the quality and performance of bodily functioning. This includes having the energy to live well, the capacity to sense the external environment and experiences of pain and comfort [25]. Mental well-being refers to the psychological, cognitive and emotional quality of a person’s life, which includes the thoughts and feelings that individuals have about the state of their life, and their experience of happiness (ibid). Social well-being concerns how well an individual is connected to others in their local and wider social community. This includes the number of social interactions a person has, the depth of their key relationships and the availability of social support (ibid).