In this blog post, we examine whether universal standards for well-being and healthy eating can truly apply to everyone, and reconsider what well-being means for each individual’s body and environment.
Do you remember the catchphrases, “Are you happy, citizens?” and “Has your livelihood improved?” As an elementary school student at the time, it took me several years to fully grasp the meaning behind these greetings. They were meant to ask how well people were doing in terms of well-being.
In English, well-being refers to quality of life (QOL), indicating the degree of welfare or happiness people experience. Originally, well-being was an alternative lifestyle chosen by the American middle class as they embraced naturalism and New Age culture in opposition to high-tech civilization. However, after the 2000s, as interest in health grew, the well-being culture imported into Korea tended to be distorted from its original intent. It became associated with an upper-class culture focused on enjoying meditation, yoga, spas, and fitness clubs, while insisting on organic or traditional diets.
The concept of ‘quality of life’ encompasses both material aspects (health, diet, financial security, etc.) and mental aspects (a state free from stress or worry, filled with joy, etc.). Since the areas where individuals derive the greatest satisfaction vary greatly, predicting an individual’s quality of life is virtually impossible. So, let’s narrow the scope and consider what well-being means in the context of diet, a fundamental human need and the foundation of a healthy life. Humans cannot survive without eating, regardless of how many meals they consume daily. Therefore, dietary habits serve as a good indicator of quality of life.
The Korean Dietary Reference Intakes (KDRIs) recommend that carbohydrates, proteins, and fats account for 55–65%, 7–20%, and 15–30% of an adult’s total energy intake, respectively. These standards are set to maintain and promote health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases across diverse age and gender groups. Furthermore, appropriate intake ratios for micronutrients like calcium and vitamin A are also published through surveys such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and the importance of nutritional intake continues to be emphasized. According to statistics from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, the proportion of the population consuming 500 grams or more of fruits and vegetables per day is increasing, and the rate of practicing healthy eating habits is also steadily rising. However, the proportion of the population consuming sodium at or below 2,000mg per day remains low, and there is still room for improvement in achieving adequate intake levels for calcium and vitamins. These statistics demonstrate that wellness and health knowledge transcend mere trends and represent a public health concern.
Interest in health and nutrition is indeed intense worldwide. Hundreds of health-related articles and diet tips flood online and offline platforms daily, with specific foods or diet methods repeatedly becoming popular and then fading away.
As this wellness craze intensifies, serious side effects are also emerging. Some people become overly fixated on food, and what should be healthy eating habits can instead lead to pathological obsessions. In 1997, physician Steve Bratman coined the term ‘Orthorexia Nervosa’ for people excessively worried about food intake and obsessed with ‘eating correctly’. They hold extreme compulsions about food, such as consuming only what they deem healthy and avoiding meat.
Individuals exhibiting ‘orthorexia’ tendencies primarily consume organic foods and strongly avoid chemical seasonings, carbonated drinks, and processed foods. They may apply strict standards to the entire act of eating, such as avoiding restaurants and insisting on eating only at home, or adhering to fixed meal times. Examples of this tendency can be found among celebrities. For instance, Kim Cattrall, who starred in the American drama “Sex and the City,” was known to consume only expensive organic foods, while renowned designer Jean Paul Gaultier drew attention for his habit of drinking large quantities of orange juice daily. A systematic review synthesizing international studies found that the prevalence of orthorexia tendencies averages about 6.9% in the general population, while it is reported to be as high as 35–57.8% in high-risk groups with heightened health awareness, such as nutritionists, medical professionals, athletes, and artists.
This excessive focus on wellness can lead to negative health outcomes. The more severe the orthorexia tendencies, the greater the risk of nutritional deficiencies such as calorie, vitamin, and mineral insufficiencies. In extreme cases, various adverse effects are reported, including malnutrition, anemia, osteoporosis, hormonal imbalances, and increased stress. Particularly in women, if this state persists long-term, it can lead to hormonal issues such as menstrual cycle abnormalities.
So, does this mean everyone with eating habits generally considered unhealthy suffers from these diseases?
Consider the people of Ladakh, a small mountain village in India. Ladakhis, who maintain a traditional lifestyle, live with relatively low stress and enjoy peace of mind. Their pace of life is leisurely and comfortable; they breathe clean air, engage in regular and sufficient exercise, and consume unprocessed, natural foods. Their bodies are accustomed to a diet in harmony with the natural world they inhabit, primarily eating locally produced, organically grown foods.
By Western nutritional standards, the Ladakhi diet would hardly be considered ‘balanced’. Fruit and green vegetable intake is very low, while butter and salt consumption is high by conventional measures. Yet heart disease, commonly associated with high cholesterol intake, is virtually absent in their society.
A similar case is seen among the Arctic Inuit (formerly called ‘Eskimos’). The Inuit traditionally consumed a diet consisting almost entirely of meat, yet maintained good health without diseases like vitamin C deficiency. In fact, research shows that some health indicators deteriorated when they were exposed to outside foods, particularly sugary foods and refined carbohydrates.
The fact that many people live healthily despite dietary habits seemingly at odds with conventional nutritional standards leads to the conclusion that the absolute nutritional standards we know as ‘right and wrong’ may not actually be universally applicable absolute criteria.
The amount and type of nutrients required by the human body are closely linked to various factors such as the environment and living conditions, level of physical activity, and stress levels of the individual. Therefore, in many cases, one can obtain sufficient nutrients solely from locally produced foods, making a meal strategy tailored to an individual’s lifestyle crucial.
The fact that a significant portion of the health knowledge commonly known in South Korea today is presented based on data from the United States or Europe is a reason that makes the author hesitant to blindly believe it.
In Korea, numerous diet methods are trending, such as one-meal-a-day diets, single-food diets, lemon detoxes, Herbalife, and diet pills. However, the truly healthy eating habit remains, somewhat clichéd, ‘three meals a day with appropriate snacks and regular exercise’. Furthermore, the recommended daily calorie intake for each age group and the adequate intake levels for most vitamins and minerals are presented based on data accumulated over decades.
Nevertheless, what I truly wish to convey is that these standards may not be absolute for everyone. For instance, even when consuming the same amount of alcohol, individuals differ in their breakdown capacity due to variations in enzyme levels. Similarly, people absorb nutrients differently from the same food because of differences in digestive capabilities. Recalling that lactose intolerance, common among Asians, stems from a deficiency of the lactase enzyme in the small intestine, it becomes clear why scientists focus on genetic research: to better understand individual and racial differences.
Dr. Daniel Kirshenbaum of the Center for Psychological and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University stated, “True well-being comes from taking the time to reflect on oneself and making consistent efforts to build health, even in small moments.” Just as the saying “too much of a good thing” suggests, pursuing a healthy lifestyle excessively can lead to negative outcomes that actually harm health. True well-being is only achieved when physical and mental health are in proper harmony.
Therefore, instead of blindly trusting trendy health information or rigidly following prescribed diets and exercise regimens only to become frustrated when desired results don’t materialize, we need to adopt an attitude of constantly experimenting to find what works for us—the right foods for our bodies, suitable physical activities, and our own unique stress-relief methods—to achieve a harmonious balance.
A healthy life cannot be achieved simply by consuming large quantities of foods others deem healthy. Aren’t there many people living healthily on diets that differ from the norm? It’s time to move beyond the perspective of ‘How do others eat and live?’ and seriously reflect on ‘What does wellness mean for my own body?’
