In modern science, various approaches to defining health have developed, however, most of them highlight physical, mental, and social aspects as the most significant. Sociological science pays particular attention to the social determinants of health, among which one can name the values and social attitudes of the individual, income level, education, the presence and nature of family relationships, etc. The experience of all-Russian and regional studies indicates a high level of significance of the value of health for Russians, while at the same time recording a “lagging” nature of behavioral strategies in matters of health preservation and disease prevention. The aim of the article is to identify the character of the attitude toward health that has formed under the influence of socio-demographic, territorial, and other socio-cultural factors and its correspondence to real self-preservation practices. The empirical basis of the study was the results of the survey “Health and Human Development in the Republic of Bashkortostan”, conducted in the Republic of Bashkortostan in May-July 2023 using a questionnaire method (960 respondents were surveyed). The results of the study show that the perceptions expressed by the residents of the republic regarding the value and importance of health are not always supported at the behavioral level: respondents more often demonstrate reactive behavior patterns rather than preventive ones. Women tend to exhibit a higher degree of responsibility for maintaining and strengthening health, which allows us to assert their special role in shaping a conscious attitude toward health among the younger generation. Young people demonstrate attitudes and behavioral practices similar to the older generation, which provides grounds for making more optimistic forecasts regarding the development of self-preserving, health-preserving behaviors in the near future.