Health

Health is the altitude of functional and/or metabolic effectiveness of an organism at both the micro(cellular) and macro(social) level. In the medical field, health is commonly defined as an organism's capability to efficiently respond to challenges (stressors) and effectively restore and sustain a "state of balance," known as homeostasis.

Another widely conventional definition of health is that of the World Health Organization (WHO), which states that "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". In more current years, this statement has been modified to include the ability to lead a "socially and economically industrious life." The WHO definition is not without criticism, as some argue that health cannot be defined as a state at all, but must be seen as a process of unremitting adjustment to the varying demands of living and of the changing meanings we give to life. The WHO definition is therefore considered by many as an idealistic goal rather than a realistic proposition.

An increasing measure of the health of populations is tallness, which is strongly synchronized by nutrition and health care, among other standard of living and quality of life matters. The study of human growth, its regulators and its implications is known as auxology.