ABSTRACT
379By and large—especially when we make comparisons with other societies or explore the history of illness and diseases—we can readily agree that Australia is a ‘healthy’ society. Yet what does ‘health’ mean? Is it simply defined as the absence of illness? How much of what happens to a person’s body is the result of purely biological factors like exposure to viruses and germs, and how much is a consequence of social relationships and cultural practices like diet and exercise? As we show here, the health of a person or an entire community involves an intricate overlapping of both biological and social processes.
