Cardiovascular
disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the world and raised
blood pressure from a systolic above 115 mmHg is one of the most important
direct causes, accounting for more than 60% of all strokes and approximately 50%
of all heart disease. This rise in blood pressure is due to an excess of salt in
our diet, too little potassium, obesity and lack of exercise. High salt intake
is a major cause of elevated blood pressure and the evidence demonstrating this
is very strong, coming from epidemiology, migration, intervention, treatment
trials, animal and genetic studies.
Based on this evidence, governments and the WHO have
recommended a reduction in salt intake from the current worldwide intake of 10
to 15 g/day to a maximum of 5 to 6 g/day. The benefits of this modest reduction
in salt intake are large. For instance, a reduction in salt intake of 6 g/day
through the fall in blood pressure that would occur, would cause an approximate
25% reduction in stroke and a 20% reduction in coronary heart disease mortality.
Salt intake in most countries in the world is passive, i.e.
it is added to food without the consent of and, very often, without the
knowledge of consumers. It is so ubiquitous now that it is difficult to avoid
it, accounting for 80% of many countries' salt intake. The only way to tackle
this is by a slow reduction in the concentration of salt in all foods where it
has been added. Studies by the WHO have shown that reducing population salt
intake by this approach is one of the most cost effective strategies for
improving health and has the great attraction, from a public health perspective,
that it does not necessarily involve a change in the public's consumption of
foods.
Therefore, to encourage action on salt worldwide an action
group, World Action on Salt and Health (WASH) has been set up based on the model
that was developed in the UK of CASH (the Consensus Action on Salt and Health):
www.actionsalt.org.uk.
CASH was set up 10 years ago and consists of leading blood
pressure experts in the UK as well as food technologists and individuals
involved in food policy. It was the first organisation in the UK to call for a
sustained reduction in the amount of salt added to foods in order to lower blood
pressure and has largely been responsible for determining the Department of
Health and Food Standards Agency of the UK current policy on salt reduction.
WASH was officially launched in October 2006 and currently
has 180 members from 43 countries. Like CASH, it is composed of experts in high
blood pressure, nutrition and public health.
Cardiovascular
disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the world and raised
blood pressure from a systolic above 115 mmHg is one of the most important
direct causes, accounting for more than 60% of all strokes and approximately 50%
of all heart disease. This rise in blood pressure is due to an excess of salt in
our diet, too little potassium, obesity and lack of exercise. High salt intake
is a major cause of elevated blood pressure and the evidence demonstrating this
is very strong, coming from epidemiology, migration, intervention, treatment
trials, animal and genetic studies.
