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I am looking for a word for someone who takes care of their health and physical well-being.

For example, a person who has hobbies could be called a hobbyist. A person who learns is a learner...

I am looking for something like that.

Any ideas?

EDIT: Syntactically I am looking for a word which could fit "that person is a/an [insert word here]".

EDIT: Contextually this word will be used a bullet heading in a mission statement which outlines a person's roles and responsibilities as such:

  • Learner
    • Blah blah blah, responsibilities/activities as a learner
  • Educator
    • Responsibilities as an educator
  • Healthy Person (looking for a good word for here, without the use of 'person')
    • Exercise, diet, hygiene, etc...
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  • I don't see why a noun is necessary, given that you could just as easily say "that person is [insert word here]".
    – Daniel
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:26
  • hmmm, hmmm, healthy?
    – crazyyyyyyyyy
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:30
  • No, because someone can easily be healthy without being health-conscious.
    – Daniel
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:34
  • @drm65 I know it seems like a bit of a silly request, but it is important to the quality of my document that I am able to put 'a' or 'an' before the word; furthermore, I would prefer to not have to include a word like 'person' after the word I am seeking for.
    – Dream Lane
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:36
  • Could you give the context in the form of the pertinent sentence? That would definitely help.
    – Daniel
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:38

7 Answers 7

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How about the person is an Athlete.

"noun 1. a person trained or gifted in exercises or contests involving physical agility, stamina, or strength; a participant in a sport, exercise, or game requiring physical skill."

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/athlete

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  • This is a really old question, but I really like this answer.
    – Dream Lane
    Mar 16, 2015 at 15:11
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I would go with "health enthusiast" or "fitness enthusiast".

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Health-conscious could fit. As always, it depends on the context.

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  • I like this, but I would have to add 'person', 'man', or 'woman' to make it work for me.
    – Dream Lane
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:31
  • Is that so bad?
    – Daniel
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:35
  • No, it's not 'terrible', but I figured I would try out the English StackExchange to see if there was something out there that would fill my needs more desirably.
    – Dream Lane
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:39
  • Fair enough! I'd like some context, though.
    – Daniel
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:40
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I think 'health-nut' would serve the purpose, but if you're looking for something more unique/esoteric perhaps 'salubrious' could work.

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    Salubrious does not actually refer to a person; it refers to something healthy for a person, e.g. salubrious air. Health-nut could work, though, if you don't mind the nut part.
    – Daniel
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:21
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    "Health-nut" is close to what I am looking for, but it's a bit too strong for my situation. I need something a little less strong. Imagine a person who just spends 45min to an hour a day exercising...
    – Dream Lane
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:30
  • Salubrious doesn't normally refer to people, but if used creatively it could be a natural extension of the word. There are innumerable examples of this happening to words in the (near) past, and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with creative language (especially in those without official standards).
    – Mark T
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:37
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It seems to me the reflexive pronoun "self-" would be needed to indicate the person is having a salutary behaviour towards itself, as in "self-destructive".

So possibly "self-sanative" would be an equivalent? It doesn't sound too good though.

"Wholesome" in my opinion however, denotes a person behaving well healthwise towards itself.

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    Wholesome, imo, has moral implications as well, pointing towards an overall lifestyle not necessarily specific to health.
    – Beofett
    Aug 2, 2011 at 14:55
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Each of your nouns are based on a verb about what the person does. If the person exercises you could call that person an exerciser. If s/he swims call him/her a swimmer. If they eat healthily call them a healthy eater. Try and think of the verb and then the noun will come out naturally.

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Someone who is very into health and fitness is often called a fitness freak. This term can be somewhat derogatory: it may have negative implications that they are obsessed with their hobby, or that their emphasis on fitness is annoying to other people. It can also be used in a positive way too, though, and many people will positively identify as a "fitness freak". Here is an example of one negative and one positive use.

Back in college, my roommate and I were digging into some chips when my friend, a fitness freak, walked in and gasped, "Oh my gosh, I would never eat those." We looked at each other like we'd just discovered we were eating a handful of dog poop. Fitness freaks can make others feel bad about their choices by pointing out our perfection. — Paige Waehner, "10 Signs You Might be an Annoying Fitness Freak", about.com (8 July 2014)

You wouldn't think it if you saw his thin frame. But musician Dr Ricky Kej (more on the epithet later) is unmindful of healthy eating and exercise. "He's been a member of three gyms, but hasn't made use of it. He just can't live without fast food," says his self-proclaimed fitness freak wife Varsha, who, on the other hand, ensures to run six days a week. — Vidya Iyengar, "Together, despite the differences", Bangalore Mirror (19 October 2014)

That is very close to gym freak, though exercise is only one part of staying healthy. A more catch-all term is health and fitness fanatic. This suggests more of a health-centric lifestyle (though from my previous quotations you can see that "fitness freak" also extends into areas like diet). More fitness-specific is "fitness fanatic", which doesn't seem to have some of the negative overtones of "fitness freak".

There isn't much that phases Fred Turok. But when the compère for the Entrepreneur of the Year awards bash made a cheap joke at the expense of his broken leg, the hard-nut South African health and fitness fanatic was clearly ruffled. — Susie Mesure, "The fitness fanatic who aims to bulk up the health clubs sector", The Independent (12 August 2002)

On the personal fitness side, there are also gym bunny (often used for women or gay/feminine men, according to Wiktionary among other sources) and gym rat (Wiktionary definition) but these suggest a degree of obsession which may make them somewhat pejorative.

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