Definition of health. Definitions of physical fitness and health vary considerably among people and particularly between clinicians and their elderly patients. Elders often deemphasize disease. Rather, they focus on function, maintaining roles, independence, and comfort. Knowledge of a patient’s definition of health enables the clinician to address his/her specific health concerns. For example, an elderly person may find the notion of ambulating with a walker unappealing but may accept it as an interim step toward ambulating with a cane or no device.