Abstract P083: Sodium Content Of Menu And Commissary Provisions In Rural Jail Exceed Heart-healthy Dietary Recommendations

Abstract

Introduction: Incarcerated populations experience nearly two times the risk of Hypertension (HT) and Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) relative to the general population. Incarcerated individuals lack the autonomy to make dietary changes to attenuate these risks. Dietary intake of sodium is considered the most critical and modifiable nutritional determinant to developing HT and CVD. The American Heart Association recommends the cardioprotective Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet which restricts sodium intake to 1500 mg per day, 800 mg less than the recommended Dietary Reference Intake (DRI). Nutrition in jail is obtained through menu provisions and purchasable packaged food and beverage items from the commissary, yet previous research indicating the high sodium content in jail meals has failed to include commissary items in total sodium intake. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that estimated daily sodium in a 7 day cycle menu and commissary items at a county jail exceed DRI and DASH diet recommendations. Methods: A 7 day cycle menu and commissary food list were obtained from a southwest rural county jail, which included 3 daily meals. Commissary items included 4 purchasable, pre-bundled food snack packs. NutriCalc Dietary Analysis software was used to determine sodium content for each meal, and commissary snack pack. Total sodium from the 7 day menu was divided by the number of days (7) to determine a daily average. For snack pack analyses, sodium of each of the 4 snack packs was added to the 7 day menu provisions and divided by 7, individually. All estimates were compared to DRI and DASH recommendations. Results: The sodium content from the menu and commissary significantly exceeded both DRI and DASH recommendations. The daily average sodium from menu provisions was 167% (3847/2300) of the DRI and 256% (3847/1500) of the DASH diet recommendations. Lunch provisions contributed the largest proportion (45%, 12051/26931) of total weekly sodium. When sodium from commissary snack packs was included with the 7 day cycle menu, daily average sodium content ranged from 173 to 292% [(3971/2300) to ( 6712/2300)] of DRI and 265 to 447% [(3970/1500) to (6712/1500)] of DASH diet recommendations. Conclusions: Small changes to one meal within the cycle menu and the inclusion of fresh or frozen produce could reduce sodium content to align with DRI and DASH recommendations. Commissary items make up a substantial portion of dietary sodium intake within jails. The addition of reduced sodium options to commissary snack packs may help limit sodium intake without restricting what little autonomy incarcerated individuals have over their diet. These alterations may help alleviate HT and CVD burden for incarcerated populations.