An app to reduce salt intake and hypertension

Dietary modification for hypertension: development and feasibility testing of a behavioural intervention to reduce salt intake (Dr Sarah Payne)

Professor Susan A Jebb from the University of Oxford wants to help people reduce their salt intake and reduce their risk of high blood pressure. She and her team are doing this through a two-pronged approach. First, they will interview people about the reasons that affect their food choices. They will then use this information to improve a smartphone app that puts participants in a virtual supermarket. This supermarket app can help people find replacements for high-salt foods. The BHF-funded researchers will then refer people newly diagnosed with high blood pressure – but not receiving drug treatment – to a practice nurse who will teach them how to use the app to get information on the salt content of foods and how to find products with less salt. If successful, Professor Jebb’s app would be a low-cost behavioural intervention to try and reduce hypertension, and one that could be delivered in routine primary care. The results of this study could also enable her to undertake a large-scale clinical trial of this approach.