Analysis of eating habits in people with hypertension with the help of NutriDan programme.

Hypertension, i.e. elevated blood pressure, ranks among the commonest civilization diseases affecting heart and blood vessels. The incidence rate covers about 25% of adults and it may have deadly consequences. The first step in treating the condition is a change in the way of life. The patients are encouraged to stop smoking; to take reasonable exercise; to reduce stress and, last but not least, to eat healthily. A diet can be assessed using NutriDan, a software leaning on a database of hundreds of foodstuffs having well-verified nutritional values. Health-care professionals can use the software tool to easily calculate the average daily intake of individual components present in a patient's diet. The tool considers the patient's age, physical activity, and the current nutrition. In compiling the paper the author used the software to analyze the nutritional habits of hypertonic patients. The research objective was pursued with reliance on the methods of qualitative survey and interrogation, using the technique of semi-controlled interview to be then made into casuistries. Contacted were hypertonic patients in České Budějovice - with a half of the respondents below 63 years of age and the other half over 63. To identify the quality and quantity of food, the author analyzed their nutritional records (their diet) for 7 days and evaluated the findings with the NutriDan tool. The survey covered 14 respondents whose nutritional records were analyzed to answer the researched question asking whether the daily volumes of energy, sodium, fats and cholesterol that the hypertonic patients received through their diet corresponded with standards recommended by the NutriDan software. The analyses showed that it was not the case. Results arrived at in the paper can be instrumental in mapping the issue of observing the diet provisions in hypertension patients, while the deficiencies found could be utilized to streamline the process of education followed to foster healthy life style