for Health Care Providers

Diet: Nutritional information is available from the Veterans Canteen Service .
Exercise and weight loss: The VHA MOVE program is a national weight management program for veterans.
Alcohol misuse: See Alcohol Misuse . Also available are VA resources for reducing alcohol use <img src="/images/icons/link-internal.gif" alt="Link will take you to our Hepatitis C internet site" title="Link will take you to our Hepatitis C internet site" class="linkicons" />.

Lifestyle Modifications Shown to Reduce Blood Pressure

Area to Modify	Goals	Anticipated SBP Reduction
Adapted from Chobanian AV, Bakris GL, Black HR, et al. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure: the JNC 7 report. JAMA. 2003 May 21;289(19):2560-72.
Diet	DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet: HIGH in fruit/vegetables, lean protein, low-fat dairy products, nuts, fiber, K⁺, Mg⁺ Ca⁺, whole grains (risk of hyperkalemia in patients with renal disease) LOW in lean red meat, sugars For specific dietary recommendations, including serving sizes and ingredients, see the DHHS DASH diet guide Low sodium diet: ≤2.4 g/day	8-14 mmHg
Exercise	>30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily Aerobic activity = brisk walking	4-9 mmHg
Alcohol	≤2 alcoholic drinks/day (men) or ≤1 drink/day (women) 1 drink = 0.4 oz (12 g) of ethanol: 12 oz beer, 5 oz wine, or 1.5 oz 80-proof (40%) liquor See Alcohol Misuse	2-4 mmHg
Weight	Maintain BMI 18.5-24.9 BMI = weight (kg)/height (m²) U.S. DHHS BMI calculator	5-20 mmHg per 10 kg weight loss
Resources
Diet: Nutritional information is available from the Veterans Canteen Service. Exercise and weight loss: The VHA MOVE program is a national weight management program for veterans. Alcohol misuse: See Alcohol Misuse. Also available are VA resources for reducing alcohol use.

From Hypertension
Primary Care of Veterans with HIV
Office of Clinical Public Health Programs
Veterans Health Administration, 2009