World Health Organization urges countries to limit salt intake to reduce risk of CVD, hypertension
![Salt substitutes are associated with a reduced risk of high blood pressure without increasing the risk of low blood pressure, according to new findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.[1]](/sites/default/files/styles/top_stories/public/2018-04/salt-3285024_1920.jpg.webp?itok=cA0aeCky)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a new report urging countries to limit salt intake to help reduce global rates of cardiovascular disease and hypertension. If this issue is taken seriously, the organization believes an estimated 900,000 lives could be saved by 2030.
“We know what works, and evidence-based interventions and tools that reduce salt intake and control hypertension are available, but many countries are not able to implement them,” according to a WHO statement highlighting the report. “Decision-makers can take stronger action to break these barriers and bring better health to people.”
The report is specifically focused on WHO’s European region, which includes a total of 53 countries. Only two of those countries—Cyprus and Malta—have salt intake statistics that line up with the organization’s recommendation of 5 grams per day.
Population-level changes to limit sodium
The WHO report emphasizes that mandatory food labels for high-salt content and procuring more low-salt ingredients are just some of the ways countries can work toward improving in this area.
“The relative importance and impact of each intervention may differ in relation to the setting,” according to the report’s authors. “Health promotion campaigns and food labelling will likely have a greater impact where high salt intake is predominantly determined by consumers and urban street vendors adding salt to meals, as in many low- and middle-income countries. In contrast, in high-income settings processed food and restaurants largely determine high salt intake, and so reformulation by the food industry and governmental policy may be more effective.”
To show how much of an impact countries can have on salt intake, the report put a spotlight on a years-long strategy to reduce salt intake that occurred in Croatia. Public health officials, family physicians, nurses and pharmacists started working together with various agriculture and food agencies in 2006. The salt content found in Croatian-made foods was reduced by 25% as a result of the completely voluntary program, and salt intake dropped from 11.6 grams per day in 2015 to 10 grams per day in 2021. This also led to a reduction in the country’s average blood pressure of 1.9 mm Hg.
Impact of salt substitutes on hypertension
The WHO report also examined the topic of salt substitutes, noting that they “have already been key to successful salt reduction strategies” in some countries and could potentially help reduce hypertension and CVD rates for entire populations.
However, the report’s authors noted, there have been some concerns that these substitutes could lead to unintended consequences as unhealthy increases in potassium consumption.
The full 57-page WHO report is available in full here.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.