What is health and fitness?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

Health: The condition of being free of disease or the overall condition of one’s body or mind.

Fitness: The quality or state of being fit or the capacity to survive and procreate (have babies). (This is a summary.)

Fit: Physically healthy and strong.

So, the definition of health and fitness is to be free of disease, strong, and able to procreate or the measure of these in a person, economy, government, country, etc..

Why? Because being sick and weak feels bad and leaves one dependent on others, while being healthy and strong makes you capable of helping and supporting others. People who strive to be strong and supportive are exemplary role models. We all dream of achieving this state.


Health is measured by the population’s average at each age, rather than a comparison of the average of those who make it to a ripe old age in good to excellent condition, at this time and at each age. Because of this, I fear we have an opinion of health that is biased away from that which would help us age in the best condition possible.

If they would put up with it, I would love to have some lively and agile people answer a battery of questions as to what they eat and ate at each era in their lives, along with the kinds of activities they participate(d) in.

Granted that there are factors, such as pollution and good genes that would have to be considered (and are rather difficult to pinpoint).