LOS ANGELES, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced Wednesday a new research initiative aimed at advancing the study of whole-person health and building an integrated knowledge network of healthy physiological functions.

The five-year research initiative will unfold in stages, drawing from existing scientific knowledge to develop a complete, working model of healthy human physiology.

Future stages will link common clinical measures, such as blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol, to major physiological functions, according to the NIH.

"By organizing healthy physiological function into a whole-body knowledge network, researchers will be able to explore scientific questions about health in a new way," said Helene M. Langevin, director of NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

Whole-person health involves looking at the whole person -- not just separate organs or body systems -- and considering multiple factors that promote either health or disease, according to the center, stressing that instead of just treating a specific disease, whole-person health focuses on restoring health, promoting resilience and preventing diseases across a lifespan. ■