CDC’s Sodium Reduction in Communities Program: Evaluating Differential Effects in Food Service Settings, 2013–2016

CDC’s Sodium Reduction in Communities Program: Evaluating Differential Effects in Food Service Settings, 2013–2016

PROGRAM EVALUATION BRIEF — Volume 17 — July 30, 2020

Julia Jordan, MPH1,2; Hadley Hickner, MS, RDN2; John Whitehill, MPH2; Benjamin Yarnoff, PhD3 (View author affiliations)

Suggested citation for this article: Jordan J, Hickner H, Whitehill J, Yarnoff B. CDC’s Sodium Reduction in Communities Program: Evaluating Differential Effects in Food Service Settings, 2013–2016. Prev Chronic Dis 2020;17:190446. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd17.190446external icon.

PEER REVIEWED

On This Page

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Purpose and Objectives
• Intervention Approach
• Evaluation Methods
• Results
• Implications for Public Health
• Acknowledgments
• Author Information
• References
• Table

Summary

What is already known on this topic?

Most people in the United States exceed the recommended daily sodium intake from the sodium already in processed and restaurant foods, whether or not they pick up a saltshaker.

What is added by this report?

From 2013 through 2016, CDC’s Sodium Reduction in Communities Program demonstrated the extent to which the program’s strategies had successfully increased access, availability, and purchases of reduced sodium foods. The program also demonstrated the differential effects of sodium reduction strategies in food service settings.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Tailored approaches that are based on a community’s available resources, stage of readiness, and food service staff’s level of engagement can address some of a strategy’s differential effects in food service settings.

Abstract

High sodium intake can lead to hypertension and increase the risk for heart disease and stroke; however, research is lacking on the effectiveness of community-based sodium reduction programs. From 2013 through 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded 10 state and local health departments to implement sodium reduction strategies across diverse institutional food settings. Strategies of the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP) are implementing food service guidelines, making menu modifications, enabling purchase of reduced-sodium foods, and providing consumer information. CDC aggregated awardee-reported performance measures to evaluate progress in increasing the access, availability, and purchase of reduced sodium foods. Evaluation results of the SRCP show the potential differential effects of sodium reduction strategies in a community setting and support the need for additional community-level efforts in this emerging area of public health.