Changing Our Understanding Of Health Reading Answers

Collegedunia Team

Mar 21, 2022

The IELTS reading section assesses students based on their ability to read a passage and answer subsequent questions. These are the KPIs that are used to evaluate a candidate's reading abilities in IELTS examination. The details are required to be remembered in IELTS reading from the passage that is presented to them. IELTS academic reading is a crucial section and students are required to look after their preparation accordingly. Changing our understanding of health IELTS reading answers is a topic which can be utilized by students to prepare themselves for IELTS reading assessment. Candidates face similar topics in IELTS reading practice papers.The topic includes question as mentioned below:

  • Selecting the right paragraph heading
  • Choosing the proper word(s) from the material
  • State the correctness of the statements

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Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Changing Our Understanding Of Health Reading Answers

A
The 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.

B
For 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.

C
In the late 1940s the World Health Organization 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.

D
The 1970s was a time of focusing on the prevention of disease and illness by emphasizing the importance of the lifestyle and behavior of the individual. Specific behaviors 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 behaviors 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.

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. 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 ecosystem, 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 behaviors and lifestyles and providing appropriate medical care. Therefore, the creation of health must include addressing issues such as poverty, pollution, urbanization, 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.

F
At 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, behavioral and biological factors can all favor 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).

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Section 2

Questions 14-18

The reading passage has six paragraphs A-F from the list of headings below
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.

List of Headings

  1. Ottawa International Conference on Health Promotion
  2. Holistic approach to health
  3. The primary importance of environmental factors
  4. Healthy lifestyles approach to health
  5. Changes in concepts of health in Western society
  6. Prevention of diseases and illness
  7. Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
  8. Definition of health in medical terms
  9. Socio-ecological view of health

Q14. Paragraph B

Answer: viii- Definition of health in medical terms
Supporting Sentence: Health in this sense has been defined as the absence of disease or illness and is seen in medical terms.
Keywords: absence, disease or illness, medical terms
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, line 3
Explanation: In this passage, the author gives a definition of health that is similar to the concept of health in Western history. Here, health is the absence of any ailments, infections, or disorders.

Q15. Paragraph C

Answer: ii- Holistic approach to health
Supporting Sentence: Health and the person were seen more holistically (mind/body/spirit) and not just in physical terms.
Keywords: Health, holistically, mind, body, spirit, physical terms
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 3
Explanation: Earlier health was basically the absence of diseases. However, in the late 1940s, the World Health Organization defied this concept and adopted an inclusive and wholesome approach.

Q16. Paragraph D

Answer: iv- Healthy lifestyles approach to health
Supporting Sentence: While this individualistic healthy lifestyles 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.
Keywords: Healthy, lifestyles, approach, health, poverty, unemployment, underemployment
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 4
Explanation: During the 1970s it was believed that a change in lifestyle can mitigate various diseases, and therefore the healthy lifestyle approach was chosen.

Q17. Paragraph E

Answer: ix- Socio-ecological view of health
Supporting Sentence: This broad approach to health is called the socio-ecological view of health.
Keywords: Socio-ecological, view, health.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, stanza 1, line 3
Explanation: The decades of the 1980s and 1990s were concerned with the broader factors that governed health like social, environmental, and economic, than just leading a healthy lifestyle.

Q18. Paragraph F

Answer: vii- Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion
Supporting Sentence: This charter, known as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, remains as the backbone of health action today.
Keywords: Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, backbone, action
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, stanza 1, line 2
Explanation: The Ottawa Charter of 1986 laid the foundation for the modern approach towards health that is still relevant.

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.

Q19. In which year did the World Health Organization define health in terms of mental, physical and social well-being?

Answer: 1946
Supporting Sentence: 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).
Keywords: WHO, 1946
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 2
Explanation: The World Health Organization gave an inclusive definition of health in 1946 that covers physical and mental health, as well as social well-being.

Q20. Which members of society benefited most from the healthy lifestyles approach to health?

Answer: (the) wealthy (members) (of) (society)
Supporting Sentence: While this individualistic healthy lifestyles 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.
Keywords: Worked for some (the wealthy members of society)
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 4
Explanation: The health programs and policies made to create general awareness mostly benefited the wealthy section of the society. The marginalized sections could not get the desired results.

Q21. Name the three broad areas which relate to people's health, according to the socio- ecological view of health.

Answer: social, economic, environmental
Supporting Sentence: While lifestyle factors still remain important, health is being viewed also in terms of the social, economic and environmental contexts in which people live.
Keywords: In terms of the social, economic, and environmental contexts in which people live.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 2
Explanation: Alongside the lifestyle of an individual, economic, social, and environmental factors play a significant role in the context of health.

Q22. During which decade were lifestyle risks seen as the major contributors to poor health?

Answer: (the) 1970s
Supporting Sentence: The 1970s was a time of focusing on the prevention of disease and illness by emphasizing the importance of the lifestyle and behavior of the individual.
Keywords: The 1970s was a time of focusing…
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 1
Explanation: During the 1970s medical science was focused on curbing ailments arising from unhealthy lifestyles.

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

Q23. Doctors have been instrumental in improving living standards in Western society.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Supporting Sentence: In paragraphs A and B, we find reference to 'Western society'. However, we do not find any information about doctors being instrumental in improving living standards in Western society.
Keywords: doctors, being instrumental, improving, living standards, Western society.
Keyword Location: Paragraph A and B
Explanation: The relevant information corresponding to this question is absent in the passage.

Q24. The approach to health during the 1970s included the introduction of health awareness programs.

Answer: YES
Supporting Sentence: Creating health meant providing not only medical health care, but health promotion programs and policies which would help people maintain healthy behaviors and lifestyles.
Keywords: Health promotion programs and policies
Keyword Location: Paragraph D, line 3
Explanation: During the 1970s medical science was concerned with the prevention of various illnesses, especially by focusing on improvement in lifestyle and promoting healthy behavior. In order to spread general awareness, programs, and policies related to health were created.

Q25. The socio-ecological view of health recognises that lifestyle habits and the provision of adequate health care are critical factors governing health.

Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: It is clear from this statement that the creation of health is about much more than encouraging healthy individual behaviors and lifestyles and providing appropriate medical care.
Keywords: Much more than encouraging healthy individual behaviors and lifestyles
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, stanza 3, line 1
Explanation: The author clearly states in this paragraph that health improvement, encouraging healthy habits, and providing health care are not sufficient when seen under the light of socio-economic factors in governing health.

Q26. The principles of the Ottawa Charter are considered to be out of date in the 1990s.

Answer: NO
Supporting Sentence: This charter, known as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, remains as the backbone of health action today.
Keywords: Backbone of health action today.
Keyword Location: Paragraph F, line 2
Explanation: The Ottawa Charter that was drawn in 1986 stating the new health guidelines made considering the socio-economic factors is still the cornerstone for the modern health system.

Q27. In recent years a number of additional countries have subscribed to the Ottawa Charter.

Answer: NOT GIVEN
Supporting Sentence: Paragraph E and F talk about the Ottawa Charter. However, there is no information regarding more countries subscribing to the Charter.
Keywords: recent years, a number of additional countries, subscribed, Ottawa Charter
Keyword Location: Paragraph E and F
Explanation: The relevant information corresponding to this question is absent in the passage.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, please refer the official website of the exam.

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