Jim Chinnis <jchinnis@SPAMalum.mit.edu> wrote in part:

I should have added that waist-to-hip ratio is becoming something of a
standard, maybe to replace BMI.
--
Jim Chinnis   Warrenton, Virginia, USA

Besides limiting sodium intake, pay attention that you get enough potassium,
calsium and magnesium as their is some evidence that adequate intake of
these blood pressure lowering minerals can lower blood pressure even more
than limiting sodium intake.

Some dietary approaches lower blood pressure at least as effectively as one
single blood pressure medication. The low sodium DASH diet, developed by the
Harvard researchers, is so far the best hypotensive diet. In the latest
version of DASH an increase in healthy proteins made the DASH diet even
slightly more effective. In practise this means replacing some carbs with
vegetable proteins, like tofu, other pulses and nuts.

Abnormal endothelial function has been shown to have an adverse effect on
blood pressure also. Endothelial function can be enhanced by limiting the
intake of transfats and saturated fats. The diet should include omega-3
fatty acids form both vegetable and marine sources and a variety of
phytochemicals which are also very important for the endothelial function.

One of the most potent sources of phytochemicals is pomegranate juice which
has been shown to reduce blood pressure very effectively. Some other
important phytochemical sources are green tea, red wine, and hibiscus tea,
to name just few.