Overview

In order for ef cacious nutritional or lifestyle interventions to improve BP control, these behaviors must be adopted in the real world. In this book, we deliberately refer to “lifestyle change” rather than “going on a diet” or “starting an ex ercise program” to indicate that we are promoting sustained change in how one lives. It is dif cult to change behavior, particularly when there are pressures against change. In the United States, and increasingly in the global society, the pressures against healthy dietary pattern, weight control, and physical activity are formidable. Nonetheless, there is ample evidence that sustained behavior change is achievable. Successful behavior change can be promoted by interventions that are grounded in behavioral theory, that use established behavior-change strategies, and that are provided at both the individual and the system levels.

Duke Scholars

Author Laura Pat Svetkey Medicine, Nephrology