Lax salt regulations in UK responsible for 9.9K CVD, 1.5K cancer diagnoses
![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)
A study out of the U.K. has found that, after the nation’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) relaxed its sodium content regulations in 2011, Brits saw a simultaneous—and related—rise in cases of cardiovascular disease and stomach cancer.
Researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Liverpool undertook an analysis of salt intake in England over 13 years, a period during which the U.K.’s sodium intake policies shifted. Between 2003 and 2010, the independent FSA monitored salt content in local foods and agreed with industry leaders on targets for salt reduction. The agency requested all food manufacturers slash the salt content in their products by 10% to 20%, which resulted in an annual 0.2 gram sodium deficit per day for men and a 0.12 gram deficit for women.
“We are eating too much salt,” Martin O’Flaherty, a co-author of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health-published study, said in a release. “Previous research has shown three-quarters of salt in our diet is hidden in processed foods such as bread, ready meals and soups. The FSA approach was one of the most robust strategies internationally.”
And it was working, too—until 2011. At that point, the FSA’s guidance was replaced with the government-led Public Health Responsibility Deal, under which the food industry was permitted to set its own targets as part of voluntary pledges. They were asked only to report their self-regulated progress to the Department of Health.
Under the new deal, sodium reductions in the U.K. began to slip, reaching a per-day deficit of 0.11 grams in men and 0.07 grams in women. O’Flaherty and his colleagues calculated the incidence of CVD and stomach cancer associated with the stalling rates, eventually identifying an extra 9,900 cases of CVD and 1,500 cases of stomach cancer that could be attributed to the policy change.
The disease burden hit the U.K. economy hard, costing the nation around $200 million between 2011 and 2017. That included extra healthcare costs for heart attacks, strokes and cancers that could have been prevented with less salt intake, as well as for lost productivity due to workplace absences.
O’Flaherty et al. estimated that, if the nation’s average reduction in salt intake continues at its current rate, we can expect an additional 26,000 cases of CVD and 3,800 cases of stomach cancer by 2025, costing the U.K. economy another $1.2 billion.
“Our research shows that we now need an equally robust mandatory program to accelerate salt intake reduction,” O’Flaherty said. “This will require clear targets and penalties to ensure the food industry reduce salt content in foods. Softer, voluntary measures could generate additional heart attacks, strokes and cancer cases.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.