In his documentary “Vitality,” Pedram Shojai makes a strong case for people taking more responsibility for their own health rather than relying on doctors and drugs. Shojai is an herbalist, chi gung master and acupuncturist based in Southern California. Virgil Films, which brought us the wildly popular pro-vegetarian movie “Forks Over Knives” is releasing “Vitality” on DVD this month.

The film’s premise is that exercise, diet, sleep and mindset are the four components that together determine your spot on the disease-vitality spectrum. Where you land on the spectrum is mostly up to you.

The film combines interviews with naturopaths, physical therapists and fitness professionals and old film footage to make these points. The old black and white snippets of news reels and educational films are the most fun to watch.

The film showcases Shojai’s genuine concern about people who eat terribly, sit too much and take lots of prescription drugs. But it’s hard to imagine a situation where these unhealthy people would watch this film. And it’s awfully basic for those who already care about their health. At one point, one of the film’s talking heads takes the viewer on a tour of a farmer’s market and explains that this is an excellent place to get fruits and vegetables.

However, “Vitality” makes  a few interesting claims, including:

• The U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other country, but only rates about 37 in health

• 90% of U.S. doctor visits are due to stress

• We average two hours less sleep per night than our great-grandparents

Overall, “Vitality” shares a positive message for improving people’s health. I just hope it reaches people who need to see it, and that those people are ready to make changes in their lives.