This report summarizes estimates of health impact and cost-effectiveness of a healthful diet and physical activity for cardiovascular disease prevention in adults with cardiovascular risk factors that were created to assess the relative value of most of the clinical preventive services recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the general population. This ranking of clinical prevention priorities is guided by the National Commission on Prevention Priorities (NCPP).

USPSTF Recommendation: In 2014, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated its 2003 recommendation of behavioral counseling to promote healthful diet and physical activity for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention in adults with CVD risk factors. The updated recommendation focuses its target population to persons who are overweight and obese and have additional CVD risk factors. The Task Force found adequate evidence that behavioral counseling has moderate benefits for this population with small to no corresponding harms (a “B” recommendation). The estimates in this report may not reflect current USPSTF recommendations. Readers are advised to check for updated recommendations at https://uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org and https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/.