Health is a major concern in all countries, but in the United States, the topic of health takes a particular social and economic form. Americans have a model of good health that they strive toward and a model of bad health that they discourage. Both exist within the country at either end of the spectrum, and both are heavily tied to education and social economic class. The U.S. model of good health is currently the person who embraces natural living, and the U.S. model of poor health is the one that has no education in or exposure to natural living.

The person who embraces natural living is the one who Americans admire and aspire to be like. Natural living is a sign of education, ethics and independence. It entails being knowledgeable about lifestyle choices that promote good health and having the focus to act upon that knowledge. This is primarily in choosing healthy foods, engaging in healthy exercise and living according to sound medical advice. Another part of this ethic in current times is balancing individual health with environmental health, and not engaging in anything that throws off the balance between the two.

The American model of bad health is, of course, the person who undermines everything the healthy person is trying to do. They are uneducated in healthy living, or they simply have no interest in the subject, so they do not implement it into their lives. They remain ignorant, unethical and unable to take care of themselves. This lifestyle usually entails low interest and low will power in doing what is right for personal and planetary health. This prototype is not known to follow med opinions, think critically about the food they eat or make much effort to exercise. They are the type, instead, to eat processed, sugary, fatty foods, watch too much TV and drive everywhere instead of walking and ignore their doctor’s advice. They are also not interested in the health of the planet and do not follow any sustainable or natural living lifestyle choices.