Sociocultural perceptions of physical activity and dietary habits for hypertension control: voices from adults in a rural sub-district of South Africa

Over half of adults from rural South Africa are hypertensive. Apart from pharmaceutical treatment, lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity and reducing dietary salt have been strongly advocated for the control of hypertension. However, the control rates of hypertension for adults in rural South Africa are low. In this paper we explore whether this is due to the recommended lifestyle intervention not aligning with the individual's socio-cultural determinants of behaviour change.