Dear Reader,

When you type in ‘healthy’ in Google, do you know what definition comes up? It is quite literally defined as, “in good health”.

It’s a seemingly simple concept– to be “healthy”-- but the truth is that many of us haven’t spent that much time thinking about what this means, and upon closer examination, many of us aren’t really sure how to measure being healthy.

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​Limitations to common measures of good health

At the most basic level, many of us have been taught growing up that ‘healthy’ is about having a BMI within a certain range. If your ratio of body mass to height is within that range, your doctor may have told you that you are healthy.

Other times we are encouraged to measure being healthy by attaining certain physical features, like a six pack or toned legs, or by meeting certain endurance milestones, like running a 7-minute mile. Sometimes we are told to measure it by fitting into a certain size pants, other times we are told to track our waist size to determine if we are healthy enough.

It's one of the most common mistakes to being healthy that I hear, and it’s foundational:

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“If you’re XYZ weight/size/fitness level, then you’re healthy.”

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Many people attribute the idea of being healthy to numbers and metrics like weight, clothing size, or the number of miles they can run. But when we really think about it, it doesn’t make sense for all of us to measure it in the same way.

Because how could your sibling/parent/grandparent/neighbor/child possibly be measuring their health in the same way as you?

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​A Japanese perspective on how to measure good health

In Japanese, the word for healthy is kenkou (健康). It is made up of two characters:

1. 健 (ken) – Strength and vigor
2. 康 (kō) – Peace, or a state of calm

Together in Japanese, these two kanji work together to convey the full meaning of "health," combining ideas of strength and peace.

In short, good health is understood as feeling strong and at peace.

Defining what healthy looks like for yourself

There is a need for us to define what healthy looks like for ourselves, because good health is not 'one size fits all'. Instead of taking the numbers at face value, it's helpful to dig deeper and understand for ourselves the larger picture, because true well-being encompasses not just physical metrics, but also emotional, mental, and social balance.

I guarantee that good health is not a single pants size, number on our health chart, or mile time we can run.

Instead, by viewing health as feeling strong and at peace in both our mind and body, we can lead a truly fulfilling, joyful, and meaningful life.

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Warm regards,

Kaki

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