Health Determinants

As per La Londe report there are four general health determinants which are healthcare services, lifestyle, environment and human biology. Thus health is improved and maintained not only through the application and advancement of health science, but also through the intelligent lifestyle and efforts of the society and individual.









The relationship between health and lifestyle has been examined by Alameda County Study. It has found that people can improve their health through exercise, avoiding smoking, limiting alcohol use, maintaining a healthy weight and enough sleep.

Water quality is a major environmental factor affecting health especially the health of children and infants in developing countries.

In developed countries studies show that lack of neighborhood space for recreation which includes the natural environment leads to higher levels of obesity and lower neighborhood satisfaction; hence overall wellbeing is lower.

As per the WHO, the main determinants of health include the economic and social environment, the person’s individual characteristics, behaviors and the physical environment. The context in which an individual lives in greatly influences his life quality and health status. The economic and social environment are main factors which determine the health condition of individuals due to the fact that higher education levels are associated to higher income and higher standard of life. Generally, people having higher qualification are more likely to get a better job when compared to those having low education levels. Therefore the former are less prone to stress.

When classifying the health status of an individual the most important factor to be considered is the physical environment. This includes factors like safe houses, clean water and air, communities and roads.

The health of the population can be established on the basis of part of the system called genetics. Genetics are deeply related to the behavior and habits of individuals developed during their life time, in terms of lifestyle choices particularly.