The Impact of a Lifestyle Education Program (CHIP) on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors: An Australasian Study

Abstract

In 2011, 45,600 deaths were attributed to cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Australia (ABS, 2013). CVD causes disability and death, as well as creating a financial burden to the individual and also to the health care systems. The current treatment of CVD is a predominately medical approach involving the use of pharmaceuticals and cardiac surgery. It is widely recognized that CVD is largely a disease of comfort, caused by poor lifestyle choices (Choi, Hunter, Tsou, & Sainsbury, 2005). Given CVD’s lifestyle origins it is not surprising that an estimated 70 - 90% of coronary episodes can be avoided through positive lifestyle choices ( Aldana et al., 2006). Residential lifestyle education programs, such as those which are delivered at the Pritikin Longevity Centre, have demonstrated success in reducing CVD risk factors through lifestyle modification, however these programs are expensive and separate the participants from their “home” environment. The CHIP intervention is a lifestyle education program that can be delivered inexpensively by volunteers and operates in a community setting so that participants are educated on making positive lifestyle choices while living in their normal living environment.