my $message = $status == 2 ? 'HIGH' 
            : $status == 1 ? 'MODERATE'
            : 'LOW'

print $message
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Depending on the depth of status, you may want to use a hash

my %status_message = { 2 => 'HIGH', 1=>'MODERATE', 0=>'LOW' };
my $message = $status_message{ $status } || 'LOW';
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Or even a standard array if the values really are ints in a 0..n range.

my @status_messages = qw( LOW MODERAGE HIGH );
my $message = $status_messages[$status] || 'LOW';
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These are both made a little more odd by the the inclusiveness of the default "LOW" value. Your demo code makes message "LOW" for any status other than 1 or 2.