Healthy vs. Healthful

Our language changes constantly.  Over time, the difference between similar words becomes blurred and finally they come to mean the same thing.  The distinction is gone and the language suffers another loss.  Such is the case with “healthy” and “healthful”.  In popular usage, the two have become interchangeable.

My understanding has always been that “healthful” means contributing to the state of good health and “healthy” means enjoying the state of good health.  Eating healthful food can make you healthy.  My Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition backs me up: healthful – “favorable to the health of mind or body; healthy – “enjoying or indicative of good health”.

“Healthy” has been a trendy word for a long time.  Over the years it has gained strength and all but pushed “healthful” aside.  Holdouts like me are accused of being pretentious when we talk about a “healthful diet”.  I don’t mind.  Sometimes you have to take a stand.

What does this have to do with writing in the business world?  All “healthy” all the time is lazy writing.  We should keep the difference between “healthful” and “healthy” in mind whenever we come up against health-related copy.  Skilled copy-writers should be able to retain the punch of the word  “healthy” and still give “healthful” its due.

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