If you are like most people, you want to get healthy and stay healthy. But what does that really mean? How can we build habits that create meaningful change in your life, and how can you learn enough of the basics about health to navigate a world full of new information?

Rebecca J. Donatelle’s Health: The Basics (now in its 13th edition) has guided students on these matters for years. But it is also written for a general audience, giving everyone a solid foundation to pursue a happier, healthier life.

Health: The Basics Summary

This book, used as a college textbook, gives the readers general information about living healthy. It’s not just a set of guidelines, though. Donatelle dives into the ways you can make beneficial lifestyle changes as well as understand new health information that comes along.

That makes it a pretty dynamic book. Rather than describing a one-size-fits-all health fad, it is more a way to get your mind right about staying well on your terms.

And things go beyond diet and exercise, although it includes sections on these as well. Topics range from how to manage stress, to mental health, to spiritual health, to aging. The scope of this book goes so far beyond the average, introducing readers to a variety of issues.

While the topics are simply too diverse to go in-depth on any one, they provide a great head start for you to begin to understand what we know so far about each.

Donatelle is able to write on these topics in a style that is easy to understand without talking down to you. And her extensive research background makes her the perfect guide.

Who is Rebecca J. Donatelle?

Donatelle is a researcher and educator in the field of public health. At the College of Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University, she is the Coordinator of Public Health Promotion and Education Programs and an Associate Professor in Public Health.

She teaches a variety of courses — everything from Principles of Health Behaviors to Complementary and Alternative Medicine. If it is a topic of interest in health, she has probably taught on the subject.

She is an award winning educator and public advocate, and she’s authored many books on related subjects — basically the perfect person to write a comprehensive tome on the basics of health.

Should I read Health: The Basics?

If you are one of the many students who has been assigned Health: The Basics, it’s worth checking out its contents for more than an A on the test. The information and perspectives in this book will give you a great advantage throughout your life.

If you aren’t a student but are looking for a single book to get you powerful, fundamental knowledge about human health and wellness, this is a winner. In just under 500 pages, Donatelle manages to tackle just about every question you might ask — all in a clear style that demystifies the sometimes complex subjects.