Promotion of children’s and adolescents’ health in the process of education

On the one hand the achievements of modern civilisation make life easier in almost every area of human functioning, on the other hand they can cause various difficulties – both in the physical health of the individual and their psychosocial functioning. This is reflected in contemporary literature on the subject and statistical data indicating an increase in the prevalence of health problems in the group of children and adolescents. Over the last hundred years, health ceased to be a negative category meaning only the state of absence of physical illness, and began to be treated in a processual and holistic way. Therefore, the emphasis has been shifted from medical interventions focused on the treatment of the already existing disease to activities focused on developing and strengthening health in the biopsychosocial dimension. The article addresses the issue of children's and adolescent's health in the context of changes that have occurred in understanding it, and consequently also in the area of activities undertaken for its benefit. The article points out the need for actions in the area of health promotion (including health education) which, having a long-term and systemic nature, should be an integral element of the education process. Thus, attention was drawn to the role of parents and teachers as persons responsible for shaping the health of the future generation.