The WHO Health Promotion Glossary was written to facilitate understanding, communication and cooperation among those engaged in health promotion at the local, regional, national and global levels. Two editions of the Glossary have been released, the first in 1986 and the second in 1998, and continued revision of the document is necessary to promote consensus regarding meanings and to take account of developments in thinking and practice. In this update 10 new terms that are to be included in the Glossary are presented. Criteria for the inclusion of terms in the Glossary are that they differentiate health promotion from other health concepts, or have a specific application or meaning when used in relation to health promotion. The terms defined here are: burden of disease; capacity building; evidence-based health promotion; global health; health impact assessment; needs assessment; self-efficacy; social marketing; sustainable health promotion strategies, and; wellness. WHO will continue to periodically update the Health Promotion Glossary to ensure its relevance to the international health promotion community.