IELTS Academic Reading # 8 - Changing Our Understanding of Health
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Reading Passage: Changing Our Understanding of Health
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 14-27 which are based on Reading Passage sample below.
Questions 14-18
The reading passage has six paragraphs,B-F.Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B-F from the list of headings below.
Write the appropriate numbers (i-ix) in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
NB There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use them all.
List of Headings
i) Ottawa International Conference on Health Promotion
ii) Holistic approach to health
iii) The primary importance of environmental factors
iv) Healthy lifestyles approach to health
v) Changes in concepts of health in Western society
vi) Prevention of diseases and illness
vii) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
viii) Definition of health in medical terms
ix) Socio-ecological view of health
Example Answer
Paragraph A v
14. Paragraph B
15. Paragraph C
16. Paragraph D
17. Paragraph E
18. Paragraph F
Changing Our Understanding of Health
AThe concept of health holds different meanings for different people and groups. These meanings of health have also changed over time. This change is no more evident than in Western society today, when notions of health and health promotion are being challenged and expanded in new ways.
BFor much of recent Western history, health has been viewed in the physical sense only. That is, good health has been connected to the smooth mechanical operation of the body, while ill health has been attributed to a breakdown in this machine. Health in this sense has been defined as the absence of disease or illness and is seen in medical terms. According to this view, creating health for people means providing medical care to treat or prevent disease and illness. During this period, there was an emphasis on providing clean water, improved sanitation and housing.
CIn the late 1940s the World Health Organisation challenged this physically and medically oriented view of health. They stated that 'health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and is not merely the absence of disease' (WHO, 1946). Health and the person were seen more holistically (mind/body/spirit) and not just in physical terms.
DThe 1970s was a time of focusing on the prevention of disease and illness by emphasising the importance of the lifestyle and behaviour of the individual. Specific behaviours which were seen to increase the risk of diseases, such as smoking, lack of fitness and unhealthy eating habits, were targeted. Creating health meant providing not only medical health care, but health promotion programs and policies which would help people maintain healthy behaviours and lifestyles. While this individualistic healthy lifestyle approach to health worked for some (the wealthy members of society), people experiencing poverty, unemployment, underemployment or little control over the conditions of their daily lives benefited little from this approach. This was largely because both the healthy lifestyles approach and the medical approach to health largely ignored the social and environmental conditions affecting the health of people.
EDuring 1980s and 1990s there has been a growing swing away from seeing lifestyle risks as the root cause of poor health. While lifestyle factors still remain important, health is being viewed also in terms of the social, economic and environmental contexts in which people live. This broad approach to health is called the socio-ecological view of health. The broad socio-ecological view of health was endorsed at the first International Conference of Health Promotion held in 1986, Ottawa, Canada, where people from 38 countries agreed and declared that:
The fundamental conditions and resources for health are peace, shelter, education, food, a viable income, a stable eco-system, sustainable resources, social justice and equity. Improvement in health requires a secure foundation in these basic requirements. (WHO, 1986) .
It is clear from this statement that the creation of health is about much more than encouraging healthy individual behaviours and lifestyles and providing appropriate medical care. Therefore, the creation of health must include addressing issues such as poverty, pollution, urbanisation, natural resource depletion, social alienation and poor working conditions. The social, economic and environmental contexts which contribute to the creation of health do not operate separately or independently of each other. Rather, they are interacting and interdependent, and it is the complex interrelationships between them which determine the conditions that promote health. A broad socio-ecological view of health suggests that the promotion of health must include a strong social, economic and environmental focus.
FAt the Ottawa Conference in 1986, a charter was developed which outlined new directions for health promotion based on the socio-ecological view of health. This charter, known as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, remains as the backbone of health action today. In exploring the scope of health promotion it states that:
Good health is a major resource for social, economic and personal development and an important dimension of quality of life. Political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, behavioural and biological factors can all favour health or be harmful to it. (WHO, 1986) .
The Ottawa Charter brings practical meaning and action to this broad notion of health promotion. It presents fundamental strategies and approaches in achieving health for all. The overall philosophy of health promotion which guides these fundamental strategies and approaches is one of 'enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health' (WHO, 1986).
Questions 19-22
Using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage, answer the following questions.
Write your answers in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.
19. In which year did the World Health Organization define health in terms of mental, physical and social well-being?
20. Which members of society benefited most from the healthy lifestyles approach to health?
21. Name the three broad areas which relate to people's health, according to the socio-ecological view of health.
22. During which decade were lifestyle risks seen as the major contributors to poor health?
Questions 23-27
Do the following statements agree with the information in the Reading Passage?
In boxes 23-27 on your answer sheet, write -
YES if the statement agrees with the information.
NO if the statement contradicts the information.
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage.
23. Doctors have been instrumental in improving living standards in Western society.
24. The approach to health during the 1970s included the introduction of health awareness programs.
25. The socio-ecological view of health recognises that lifestyle habits and the provision of adequate health care are critical factors governing health.
26.The principles of the Ottawa Charter are considered to be out of date in the 1990s.
27. In recent years a number of additional countries have subscribed to the Ottawa Charter.
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For the answer explanation, visit - Answer Explanation: Changing Our Understanding of Health
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Rating 3.35 (65 Votes)
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Kamal
Can anybody please explain why the answer to question 26 is 'no'?
Sergey
"This charter, known as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, remains as the backbone of health action today."
SL IELTS
These are much too advance questions. I have done a few questions related to the passage one and I found it extremely difficult. However, it is good to practice though.
SL IELTS
IELTS.
Ghazanfar
This charter, known as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, remains as the backbone of health action today.
Kara Vo
Who can explain me the question 26, please? Thank you!
Aman
Please share explanations for answers as well.
Talha Butt
How can I get reasons/explanations for all answers? I have seen answer explanations in some paragraphs. Can anybody suggest me a better website for answers?
Maria Kristina Cañada
While lifestyle factors still remain important, health is being viewed also in terms of the social, economic and environmental contexts in which people live. This broad approach to health is called the socio-ecological view of health.
Jaswinder Singh
Please guide me, how can I download academic reading samples in pdf file?
Fco
I believe this explains it:E "During the 1980s and 1990s there has been a growing swing away from seeing lifestyle risks as the root cause of poor health. While lifestyle factors still remain important, health is being viewed also in terms of the social, economic and environmental contexts in which people live."
Nodir
14.
Andrea Phillip
Thanks a lot for the very supportive materials for IELTS Preparation.
Maninder Singh
Can someone explain me the answer to Q. 25, please?
Haoyu Huang
E, the second sentence.
Currently Out
Always thanks for uploading lots of helpful materials. Thanks. They do really help.
Umesh Satashia
The answer to the question 17 could also be option 1 but it's not. Why? Please explain if anyone can.
Bimala Bhandari
Thanks a lot. It is really nice to practice here. I have not got a good mark - only 8 correct answer, but will try...
Kris
...growing SWING away... SWING means moving away. So the sentence reads: During the 1980s and 1990s there has been a growing swing (moving) away from seeing lifestyle risks as the root cause of poor health. That means they aren't seeing lifestyle risks as the root cause of poor health.
Sundas
The answer to the question 21 is "social, economic, environmental". If "social, economical, environmental" is also the correct one please let me know.
Arvind
Got all 14 correct!!! This is the first passage where I got all the answers right. Please let me know the difficulty level of this passage.
Deby
I think the same.
Bikash Tiwari
I am still confused about this answer.
Bikash Tiwari
I still think the answer to question 22 is 1980 to 1990. During the 1980s and 1990s, there has been a growing swing away from seeing lifestyle risks as the root cause of poor health.
Vikram
Wow! I have got 12 out of 14.
Bess
Creating health meant providing not only medical health care but also health promotion programs and policies which would help people maintain a healthy behaviour and lifestyle.
Feri
In my opinion, the meaning could be "move away from the bad lifestyle in the 1970s" and some bad lifestyle in 1970 are "Specific behaviours which were seen to increase the risk of diseases, such as smoking, lack of fitness and unhealthy eating habits".
Feri
I think there's a key word "prevention" which has the same concept of "awareness".
Marta
The answer to question 26 is 'NO'. NOT GIVEN is the answer to the question 27.
Marta
Do you mean that it should be 'vi'? It's 'iv' because it's talking concretely about the healthy lifestyle's approach. On the contrary, 'vi' is about prevention in general but, you know, it's too general. Indeed, the whole text is about prevention of illness and disease.
Marta
It's a change. In that context, it means that they don't think anymore that lifestyle is the root cause of poor health.
Linh
You can see at paragraph 'F' - "...remains as the backbone of health action today..." -> So it means it hasn't been out of date!
Francis
Wow, I got 10. Though I still think question 22 is '1980s' and '1990s'. This website is actually helpful.
Asami
24 # The approach to HEALTH during the 1970s included the introduction of health awareness programs. Can anyone explain why this statement is 'true' instead of 'not given'? Thankfully - Asami.
Elijah
On paragraph F, second sentence, it states that the "Ottawa Charter remains as the backbone of health action today", meaning from 1986 until the present time (2015). In which case it is opposite, or contradictory, of the statement in item 26, saying that it is out of date in the 1990s because it is still relevant until today (2015). At least that's why I think the answer is 'NO' instead of 'NG'.
Elijah
I am wondering why the answer to the question number 22 is (1970s) when the instructions clearly state that you should only write WORDS, not NUMBERS. Am I the only one who answered in word form in this question?
Bella
What does 'swing away' mean?
Bella
Shouldn't 26 be 'NG'? Because it didn't say anything related to Ottawa's principles? And it is being out of date?
Aakash Vaghela
Wow! I got 11. Thank you, sir, for this. It is a great website.
Fineel
This is really a great help for the IELTS candidates. Thumbs up for the best IELTS website. Thank you very much for this post. I like this site very much.
Ems
I am doubtful about the answer number 16. It should be 'iv'. Please, somebody, explain it.
Prince Isaac
During the 1980s and 1990s, there has been a growing "SWING AWAY" from seeing lifestyle risks as the root cause of poor health... So it must be 1970 or else question was wrong.. ( decade = ?? ) :/
Kim
The answer to the question 22 is "1990s and 1990s", isn't it?
Mikki
This is really a great help for the IELTS candidates. Thumbs up for the best IELTS website. This online preparation material would definitely help many students like me.
