Description of the Health Triangle

As life expectancy rates continue to rise, issues surrounding health and wellness have become increasingly popular. Healthy lifestyle practices involve more than just exercise and proper nutrition. Mental well-being and social ties also play a part in achieving optimal health. The health triangle is a model that defines optimal health as a balance between the mental, social and physical areas of life.

Identification

The health triangle--also known as the Wellness Triangle--represents three aspects of living that contribute to optimal health. The three areas involve the physical, social and mental well-being of the individual. Each aspect makes up a side of the triangle. Optimal health is achieved once a balance between the three areas is reached. The concept of the health triangle was first introduced by the World Health Organization in 1948, which stressed the need for overall balance to achieve health and wellness.

Social Health

The social side of the health triangle identifies the impact that a healthy social awareness has on overall health. Social aspects include family relationships, relationships with people in the community, and friendships. The ability to create and maintain healthy relationships contributes to a healthy mental attitude and outlook. Respect toward self and others is a prerequisite to achieving health within this area. Effective communication skills within personal and work relationships and the ability to cooperate with others also contribute to one's social health status.

Mental Health

The mental side of the health triangle has to do with an individual's cognitive or emotional well-being. Self-awareness, in terms of being able to identify one's feelings and channel them constructively, is a key determinant to effectively handling everyday stressors. Mental health status impacts the social aspect of the wellness triangle in terms of maintaining healthy relationship bonds. A person's mental health status can also impact the physical side of the triangle as can be seen in situations where a person's physical health will decline under periods of prolonged stress.

Physical Health

The idea that health is present when disease is absent is but one aspect of the physical side of the health triangle. Wellness promotion is the overall focus in maintaining one's physical status. Exercise and a balanced diet work to protect the body from sickness as well as strengthen the social and mental areas of the wellness triangle. Proper nutrition provides needed nutrients for the body and thereby directly affects the body's ability to handle stress and the mind's ability to work through stress.

Effects

The overall concept behind the health triangle is the importance of having all three sides in balance. When one side is off balance, the other two areas must compensate for the lack and will ultimately suffer as a result. The physical side serves as the foundation for the other two, meaning both emotional (mental) and social endeavors will be negatively affected when the body is sick or weak. A person's mental health status influences her ability to create and maintain healthy relationships (social health), as well as manage everyday stressors in a constructive manner. The benefits of social health that result from positive relationship bonds and a productive lifestyle work to strengthen both the physical and mental sides of the triangle.

References

• The Wellness Triangle and Anti-Aging
• The Triangle of Health

Resources

• Diet & Nutrition -- Health Pyramid