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- IELTS Reading Sentence Completion
- IELTS Reading True/False/Not Given
- IELTS Reading Matching Headings
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IELTS reading passage – Poverty and health
Poverty and health
The idea of health can imply different things to different people and different societies depending on the context. These conceptions of health have also developed considerably over the course of human history. There is no better illustration of this growth than the manner in which ideas regarding health and the promotion of health in contemporary Western society are being broadened and put to the test.
Health has primarily been considered in a physical way throughout recent Western history.To put it another way, traditionally, good health has been linked to the body’s efficient mechanical operation, whereas unhealthy states have been linked to flaws in this machine. According to medical definitions, health in this sense is the elimination of disease or illness. In accordance with this viewpoint, promoting people’s health entails offering healthcare services to cure or prevent illness and disease. Housing, better sanitation, and access to clean water were emphasized during this time.
This physically and medically focused perspective of health was contested by the World Health Organization in the late 1940s. They argued that “health is not only the absence of sickness; rather, it is a full condition of physical, mental, and social well-being in all aspects of one’s life”. Health and the individual were seen from a more holistic perspective, taking into account the mind as well as the body and the spirit.
The 1970s emphasized lifestyle and behavior to avoid sickness and illness. Targeted behaviors include smoking, inactivity, and bad eating. Creating health means providing medical treatment and health promotion programs and policies to promote healthy habits and lifestyles. Humanistic interest in a healthy approach to health works for some, but not for those with poverty, unemployment, joblessness, or little command over their daily lives. Both the health promotion and medical approaches to health overlooked social and environmental factors impacting people’s health.
There has been a significant shift apart from seeing lifestyle hazards as the main contributor to ill health during the 1980s and 1990s. Health is now seen in terms of the social, economic, and environmental settings in which individuals live, even though lifestyle elements are still crucial. The social-economic view of health refers to this comprehensive approach to health. During the first International Conference of Public Health, which took place in Ottawa, Canada, in 1986, participants from 38 different nations agreed and declared that the basic prerequisites and resources for health are social justice, equity, housing, schooling, nourishment, a viable income, a stable ecosystem, and sustainable resources. A strong base on these fundamental needs is necessary for health improvement.
This statement demonstrates that encouraging healthy behaviors and lifestyles and providing medical care is insufficient to bring about health. To promote health, issues including poverty, pollution, urbanization, resource depletion, social alienation, and poor working conditions must be addressed. Health is a result of social, economic, and environmental factors working together. Conditions that promote health are determined by their intricate interrelationships. A socio-ecological theory of health emphasizes that social, economic, and environmental factors must all be taken into account while promoting health.
At the 1986 Ottawa Conference, a charter identified new pathways for health promotion based on a socio-ecological understanding of health. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion still guides health activities today. Good health is a vital resource for social, economic, and personal growth and an important aspect of quality of life, according to the scope of health promotion. Political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, behavioral, and biological variables all affect health. The Ottawa Charter makes health promotion actionable. It presents health in all ways and approaches. The underlying principle of health promotion is ‘allowing individuals to increase control over and enhance their health.’
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Poverty And Health IELTS Reading Questions
Questions 1 – 5
Following are a few statements given from the passage above. You have to check the answers from the passage and write them correctly.
1. In the __________, emphasis was placed on healthy lifestyle choices as a means of disease and sickness prevention.
2. They said that comprehensive health encompasses one’s __________, psychological, and interpersonal well-being.
3. A key component of quality of life and a crucial resource for social, economic, and personal growth is __________.
4. The body’s efficient __________ has been linked to good health.
5. A solid foundation in the fundamental criteria is necessary for better __________.
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Questions 6 – 10
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage? In boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet write
TRUE if the statement reflects the claims of the writer
FALSE if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
6. This broad concept of health promotion is given concrete meaning and action by the Ottawa Charter.
7. Over the course of history, several interpretations of “health” have emerged.
8. In 2014, during the Ottawa Conference, a charter was drafted.
9. The World Women’s Organization contested this physically and medically focused perspective on health in the late 1940s.
10. The importance of good health as both a problem and a prerequisite has been demonstrated by historical data as well as by academic assertions.
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Questions 11 – 13
Reading passage 1 has six sections A – G. Choose the correct heading for sections B – E from the list of headings below.
List of headings
i. Socio-ecological view of health
ii. Changes in concepts of health in Western society
iii. Healthy lifestyles approach to health
iv. Definition of health in medical terms
v. A holistic approach to health
Example Answer
Section A: iii
11. Section B
12. Section C
13. Section D
14. Section E
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Poverty and health Reading Answers
1. 1970s
2. Physical
3. Good health
4. Mechanical operation
5. Health
6. True
7. True
8. False
9. False
10. Not given
11. iv
12. v
13. iii
14. i
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