Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the US and globally. In the US, the estimated direct and indirect costs of cancer exceed half a trillion dollars/year. Diet is an established major contributor to CVD, and our prior work has shown that elements of poor diet account for tens of thousands of US CVD deaths per year.
We have previously identified several specific nutrition strategies with the strongest evidence, and this project continues to build on that work with the following research questions:
How effective are the identified population-level nutrition policies in improving diet?
How effective are the identified population-level nutrition policies in reducing cardiovascular disease, other chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)?
By answering these questions, we will gain greater insight into which population-based strategies are most effective. In turn, policy makers, researchers, and public health advocates will be able to use this information to inform local, state, and national policy to reduce the burden of CVD and improve the public's diet.
Project leader: Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian