Health Promotion Roles of the Federal Government and Food Industry in Nutrition and Blood Pressure

Some principal activities of government that pertain to nutrition and blood pressure are education, information, dietary guidance, food regulatory practices, health and nutrition monitoring, biomedical research and training, and legislation. The food industry, in turn, influences the marketplace and food consumption by its response to government activities and policies. Dietary guidance recommendations call for moderation of dietary intake, improved nutrition, and greater availability in food choices in the marketplace that are consistent with dietary recommendations to reduce chronic disease risk. Health and nutrition monitoring allows measurement of the effectiveness of moderating dietary intake and controlling hyper-tension. Adequate support of education, nutrition and health monitoring, and biomedical research and training is necessary to control and prevent hypertension. Cooperation between government and industry can contribute to the decline in cardiovascular disease, which in 1987 cost this nation in excess of $135 billion. (Hypertension 1991;17[suppl I]:I-196-I-200) This article, based on my work in the area ofcardiovascular nutrition over the past 20years, discusses the role of government in the promotion of nutrition and health, particularly nutri-tion and blood pressure, and the role of the foo