[The human measure]

In 1800 the new French republic introduced the metric system to replace a multitude of different measures. Some old units for length, such as the foot, were based on the human body. In medicine, the severity of a disease can be measured at several different levels; (a) the biological process; (b) the function of body parts; (c) the individual's activities; and (d) social participation. In the current quest for objectivity, physicians sometimes prefer measurements that are closely related to physical science, whereas patients are more concerned about the restriction of their activities. There are different scales for measuring the range of human activities, for example, according to speciality or even disease. There is a need for a generic measure of health in relation to activities and this should preferably be calibrated on a linear scale.