Posted by Horton Tatarian, research biochemist, on 14th Jul 2015
Know Your Health Status
Your Health Status
Most people are able to describe their health status (good, fair, etc.) and predict how long they will live.
Self-rated future health is an independent, robust predictor of mortality. It is as predictive of subsequent mortality in older adults as the standard measure of self-rated current health. reference
Some self-assessment questionnaires ask for a health status rating, usually in a multiple choice question. The options, Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, or Failing are usually understood to mean the following:
| Excellent Health | Exceptional or very good health |
| Good Health | Usually free of health problems |
| Fair Health | Adequate but not free of health problems |
| Poor Health | A less than satisfactory state of health |
| Failing Health | A precarious state of deteriorating health |
The Health Status Scale
The meanings of the terms in the following Health Status Scale reflect the inverse relationship between health and disease.
| 90 - 99 | Excellent Health | Outstanding Disease Resistance |
| 80 - 89 | Good Health | Occult (Hidden) Disease Processes |
| 70 - 79 | Fair Health | Acute or Chronic Disease |
| 60 - 69 | Poor Health | Serious Acute or Chronic Disease |
| 50 - 59 | Failing Health | Serious Progressive Disease |
| 40 - 49 | Expiring Health | Advancing Terminal Disease |
Comments on The Health Status Scale
Scale Numbering
The number 100 is not on the scale since it refers to Perfect Health and Flawless Disease Resistance, which is only a theoretical state.
Choosing a number between 40 and 99 facilitates tracking changes over time on this continuous spectrum. A person's health status may rise or fall at any level on the Health Status Scale.
Health Status Changes
Degenerative processes are reversible. Health status improves when the factors that promote cell and tissue repair (regeneration) overcome the stresses that promote disorder and cell and tissue damage (degeneration). Improvement can manifest itself unexpectedly and dramatically, as documented in cases of unexplained recovery from an advanced terminal disease.
Good Health vs. Excellent Health
Excellent Health requires outstanding disease resistance.
Good Health is an innately deceptive state of disease. Good Health includes hidden disease processes since, by definition, disease resistance is less than outstanding. Arteries accumulate plaque without any discomfort before the heart attack or stroke that follows. Likewise, nerve cells in the brain degenerate and die before evidence of dementia. Cancer cells multiply before a diagnosis of cancer while a person's health is good.
About Horton Tatarian
I’m a biochemist who examines scientific findings on health and disease. My degree in biochemistry is from U.C. Berkeley. UCLA School of Medicine granted an M.D. degree in 1974. Since then, independent research prepared me to advise clients on natural ways of self-care.