Dietary Risk Factors and Their Modification in Cardiovascular Disease

This article provides an overview of dietary risk factors for cardiovascular disease and intervention strategies for their modification. The most prominent dietary risk factors for cardiovascular disease are hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity. Dietary fat and cholesterol contribute to hypercholesterolemia; diet sodium intake is linked to hypertension; and both conditions are exacerbated by obesity. Clinical strategies for modifying diet have relied heavily on education, skills training, and problem-solving procedures. Short-term changes in dietary behavior are often achieved, but maintenance remains an unresolved problem. Clinical approaches have been criticized as too limited in scope and too costly to deal with diet as a public health issue. A new generation of studies now underway is attempting to modify dietary behavior in entire populations.