WHO urges countries to adopt mandatory salt intake reduction policies
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the world is failing to meet its target of reducing sodium intake by 30% by 2025, putting millions of lives at risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death.
In a first-of-its-kind global report on sodium intake reduction, the WHO revealed that the average salt consumption is more than double the recommended level of less than 5 grams per day (one teaspoon).
Only 5% of WHO Member States have implemented mandatory and comprehensive policies to lower sodium intake, while 73% lack any such policies.
WHO said that adopting highly cost-effective sodium reduction policies could save an estimated 7 million lives globally by 2030, and contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal target of reducing deaths from noncommunicable diseases. However, only nine countries currently have a complete package of recommended policies to reduce sodium intake.
The report suggested four “best buy” interventions related to sodium reduction, which include reformulating foods to contain less salt, establishing public food procurement policies to limit salt or sodium-rich foods in public institutions such as hospitals and schools, implementing front-of-pack labelling systems to inform consumers about the salt content of foods, and conducting mass media campaigns to raise awareness about the health risks of high salt intake.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said: “Unhealthy diets are a leading cause of death and disease globally, and excessive sodium intake is one of the main culprits. This report shows that most countries are yet to adopt any mandatory sodium reduction policies, leaving their people at risk of heart attack, stroke, and other health problems. WHO calls on all countries to implement the ‘Best Buys’ for sodium reduction, and on manufacturers to implement the WHO benchmarks for sodium content in food.”
The report also urged countries to establish sodium content targets for processed foods in line with the WHO Global Sodium Benchmarks, which target a wide range of categories of high-sodium food products such as breads, savory snacks, meat products and cheese. The report developed a Sodium country scorecard for Member States based on the type and number of sodium reduction policies they have in place.
Dr Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, said: “This important report demonstrates that countries must work urgently to implement ambitious, mandatory, government-led sodium reduction policies to meet the global target of reducing salt consumption by 2025. There are proven measures that governments can implement and important innovations, such as low sodium salts. The world needs action, and now, or many more people will experience disabling or deadly—but preventable—heart attacks and strokes.”
WHO is calling on Member States to implement sodium intake reduction policies without delay and to mitigate the harmful effects of excessive salt consumption. WHO also calls on food manufacturers to set ambitious sodium reduction targets in their products.
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