Health

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a

living organism. In humans it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt
and self-manage when facing physical, mental or social challenges. The World
Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in its 1948
constitution as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Definition of growth and development

Growth is the progressive increase in the size of a child or parts of a child.
Development is progressive acquisition of various skills (abilities) such as head
support, speaking, learning, expressing the feelings and relating with other people.
Growth and development go together but at different rates.

Importance of assessing growth and development

The assessment of growth and development is very helpful in finding out the
state of health and nutrition of a child. Continuous normal growth and development
indicate a good state of health and nutrition of a child. Abnormal growth or growth
failure is a symptom of disease. Hence, measurement of growth is an essential
component of the physical examination.

Holistic Health
Holistic Health is actually an approach to life. Rather than focusing on
illness or specific parts of the body, this ancient approach to health considers the
whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment. It
emphasizes the connection of mind, body, and spirit. The goal is to achieve
maximum well-being, where everything is functioning the very best that is
possible. With Holistic Health people accept responsibility for their own level of
well-being, and everyday choices are used to take charge of ones own health.

The 5 Dimensions of Holistic Health

Physical
Physical health refers to the state of the body, and its ability to perform bodily
functions. It refers to the aspects that are essential for keeping the body in the best
condition. Following are a few ways to ensure good physical health:
1. Eat nutritious food to keep the body and mind energized.
2. Never skip meals or overeat.
3. Water is essential for cleansing the body.
4. Fitness through exercise will increase immunity and endurance levels of the
body.
5. Regular medical checkups can help in arresting illnesses in their early stages.
6. Sleep at least for 7 uninterrupted hours daily.
7. Avoid addictive substances.

Mental

Our ability to accept and cope with our own feelings, as well as emotions
experienced by others is defined as emotional well-being. Emotions contribute to
almost all aspects of our life, at times, even setting course of actions. Symptoms of
emotional problems such as hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and even suicidal
tendencies are not always easily detectable, and these can have an adverse effect on
one's quality of life.
1. Awareness and acceptance of our strength and shortcomings is essential for our
emotional well-being.
2. One should have the ability to handle stress and seek help, if needed.
3. One should build strong communication networks among family, friends, and
peers.

Emotional
Our ability to accept and cope with our own feelings, as well as emotions
experienced by others is defined as emotional well-being. Emotions contribute to
almost all aspects of our life, at times, even setting course of actions. Symptoms of
emotional problems such as hopelessness, depression, anxiety, and even suicidal
tendencies are not always easily detectable, and these can have an adverse effect on
one's quality of life.
1. Awareness and acceptance of our strength and shortcomings is essential for our
emotional well-being.
2. One should have the ability to handle stress and seek help, if needed.
3. One should build strong communication networks among family, friends, and
peers.

Social
Building and maintaining satisfying relationships comes naturally to us, as we are
social animals. Being socially accepted is also connected to our emotional wellbeing.
1. One should improve or enhance one's ability to interact with people, and be
receptive to their ideas with an open mind.
2. One should accept and understand diverse cultural norms.
3. One should build networks among different kinds of people.

4. One should adopt a positive self-image.

5. One should enhance interpersonal communication skills.

Spiritual
Our good health is incomplete without being spiritually healthy. Being spiritual
translates to the ability and desire to seek meaning and purpose of life. Spiritual
health refers to our personal beliefs and values. There are no prescribed ways to
attain spiritual well-being. It's more a matter of looking inwards to understand the
meaning of our existence.

Changes in Health Dimensions During Puberty

Physical
For girls, you might start to see early physical changes from about 10 or 11 years,
but they might start as young as 8 years or as old as 13 years. Physical changes
around puberty include:
breast development
changes in body shape and height
growth of pubic and body hair
the start of periods (menstruation).
For boys, physical changes usually start around 11 or 12 years, but they might start
as young as 9 years or as old as 14 years. Physical changes include:
growth of the penis and testes (testicles)
changes in body shape and height
erections with ejaculation
growth of body and facial hair
changes to voice.

Mental
Studies have shown that the brain makes significant changes as a child grows
through puberty into adulthood. As a child becomes a teen, he or she is more able

to think abstractly, and more importantly, more able to empathize with others. The
bulk of cognitive work in the brain shifts to the pre-frontal cortex throughout the
teen-age years, but does not complete this process until a person enters their
twenties. Teens are still prone to risk-taking behaviors, but as they mature, they
become more and more aware of consequences arising from their actions. The
ability to think in the abstract, allows them to better theorize and form opinions
about their surroundings. As a side note, it is been observed that these changes are
arrested or delayed in teens who abuse alcohol and most drugs.

Emotional
1. Feeling overly sensitive
2. Peer pressure
3. Conflicting thoughts
4. Mood swings
5. Feeling conscious about self
6. Getting sexual feelings

Social
Young people are busy working out who they are and where they fit into the world.
So you might notice that your child is searching for identity. This search can be
influenced by gender, peer group, cultural background and family expectations.
Seeking more independence is common. This is likely to influence the decisions
your child makes and the relationships your child has with family and friends. Your
child might want more responsibility too, both at home and at school.
The nature of teenage brain development means that teenagers are likely to seek
out new experiences and engage in more risk-taking behaviour. At the same time,
your child is still developing control over her impulses.
On the upside, your childs likely to be thinking more about right and wrong.
Hell start developing a stronger individual set of values and morals. Hell question
more things. Your words and actions shape your childs sense of right and wrong.

Youll probably find your child is influenced more by friends, especially when it
comes to behaviour, sense of self and self-esteem.
She might also be starting to develop and explore a sexual identity. This might
include romantic relationships, or going out with someone special. These arent
necessarily intimate relationships, though for some young people, intimate or
sexual relationships dont happen until later on in life.

Spiritual
During puberty, clinging on to your virtues and beliefs can be hard. Your social
status might change your thoughts and your emotions might break those virtues. I
think that you should ignore social things and stick to your virtues since those are
more important to you than what people think. If you break them, well you can't fix
the past so you just have to keep calm and carry on.

Factors That Affect Health During Puberty

Genetic influence:
Various studies have found direct genetic effects to account for at least 46% of the
variation of timing of puberty in well-nourished populations. The genetic
association of timing is strongest between mothers and daughters. The specific
genes affecting timing are not defined yet. Among the candidates is an androgen
receptor gene.
Environmental factors:
If genetic factors account for half of the variation of pubertal timing, environment
factors are clearly important as well. One of the earliest observed environmental
effects is that puberty occurs later in children raised at higher altitudes. The most
important of the environmental influences is clearly nutrition, but a number of
others have been identified, all which affect timing of female puberty and
menarche more clearly than male puberty.
Nutritional influence:
Nutritional factors are the strongest and most obvious environmental factors
affecting timing of puberty. Girls are especially sensitive to nutritional regulation
because they must contribute all of the nutritional support to a growing fetus.

Surplus calories (beyond growth and activity requirements) are reflected in the
amount of body fat, which signals to the brain the availability of resources for
initiation of puberty and fertility.
Although available dietary energy (simple calories) is the most important dietary
influence on timing of puberty, quality of the diet plays a role as well. Lower
protein intakes and higher plant fiber intakes, as occur with typical vegetarian
diets, are associated with later onset and slower progression of female puberty.
Studies have shown that calcium deficiency is a cause of late puberty, irregular and
painful, cramping during menstruation with excessive blood loss, and lowered
immune response to infections in young girls. This could be from a deficient diet
or lack of vitamin D from too little sun exposure. This lack of calcium could
predispose them to osteoporosis later in life.
Obesity influence:
Scientific researchers have linked early obesity with a drop of puberty onset in
girls. They have cited obesity as a cause of breast development before nine years
and menarche before twelve years. Early puberty in girls can be a harbinger of later
health problems.
Physical activity and exercise:
The average level of daily physical activity has also been shown to affect timing of
puberty, especially female. A high level of exercise, whether for athletic or body
image purposes, or for daily subsistence, reduces energy calories available for
reproduction and slows puberty. The exercise effect is often amplified by a lower
body fat mass.
Physical illness:
Many chronic diseases can delay puberty in both boys and girls. Those that involve
chronic inflammation or interfere with nutrition have the strongest effect. In the
western world, inflammatory bowel disease and tuberculosis have been notorious
for such an effect in the last century, while in areas of the underdeveloped world,
chronic parasite infections are widespread.

Myths about Puberty Health

Myth: Puberty starts when you get your first period
Reality: People think that puberty means getting your first period, says
Greenspan, but that is actually an event late in the process of pubertal
development. The first changes are breast development and the appearance of
pubic hair.
Myth: If your pubescent daughter seems intense or emotional, hormones are
to blame
Reality: Context is key. Hormones dont cause emotions, but rather augment
any issues that are already at play for any individual girl. Deardorff says that
parents can help support their daughters during this time by providing
consistency, by managing their own emotions when daughters are struggling with
theirs, and by teaching their daughters to regulate and express their feelings
appropriately during this time of rapid change.

Myth: Puberty education is something that should be taught starting in middle

school
Reality: As early as second grade, some girls may start to have pubertal
development, Greenspan says, but school systems should realize its not only
middle school teachers who need to be aware of pubertal changes their students
may be going through. In fact, Greenspan says kids should be educated about
physical changes that may be happening starting at around fourth grade. If
puberty education is presented as part of the science or health curriculum, gender
shouldnt matter when teaching the facts, she says.

Health Appraisal
Health appraisal is a series of procedures to assess or determine the health status of
students. The health status of the student is determined through the use of teachers
observation, screening test, health histories, and medical, dental, and psychological
evaluations.

Procedures in health appraisal:

1. screening determines the potential health implications of the policy
2. scoping - key health issues and public concerns are identified that should be
considered the assessment. Health determinants that may be include factors such as
the social, and physical environment (housing quality, crime rates, and social
networks), personal or family circumstances (exercise, risky-behavior, and
employment)

3. Appraisal within the defined scopes, available evidence is gathered and used to
estimate the potential health gains or losses.

Height and weight is being monitored during puberty to know the growth of a
child and also to get to its BMI to describe the bodys condition

Self-breast examination
a procedure a woman can do to physically and visually examine her breasts and
underarm areas for changes. It has not been shown that BSEs alone can accurately
determine the presence of breast cancer.

Breast self-examination can be performed every month. Become familiar with how
your breasts usually look and feel so that you may notice any change from what is
normal for you:

If you still menstruate, the best time to do BSE is when your breasts are least
likely to be tender or swollen, such as a few days after your period ends.
If you no longer menstruate, pick a certain daysuch as the first day of each
monthto remind yourself to do BSE.
Testicular examination for boys - help you learn the normal feel and appearance of
your testicles. That may make it more likely that you'll notice subtle changes,
should they occur. Changes in your testicles could be a sign of a common benign
condition, such as an infection or a cyst, or a less common condition, such as
testicular cancer.
A testicular exam is an inspection of the appearance and feel of your testicles. You
can do a testicular exam yourself, typically standing in front of a mirror.
Routine testicular exams may give you a greater awareness of the condition of your
testicles and help you detect when changes occur. Testicular exams may also help
you identify potential testicular problems.
If you detect lumps or other changes during a testicular exam, make an
appointment with your doctor.

testicular self-examination (TSE) is an easy way for guys to check their own
testicles to make sure there aren't any unusual lumps or bumps which can be the
first sign of testicular cancer.