A modeling study by the World Health Organization estimated that complying with WHO-recommended levels of sodium intake could prevent three million deaths due to cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease over 10 years.
High levels of sodium – a component of salt – is one of the main dietary risks of death and disability. Packaged foods are a major source of sodium intake in high-income countries, and rapidly increasing in low- and middle-income countries.
However, researchers, including those from The George Institute for Global Health, Hyderabad, said India has no national strategy for sodium reduction despite people consuming double the recommended amount and increasing amounts of packaged foods.
The WHO recommends less than two grams of sodium a day, which is equivalent to about less than a teaspoon or five grams of salt a day.
Published in The Lancet Public Health journal, the results suggested substantial health benefits and cost savings within the first ten years of compliance, including preventing 1.7 million cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes and seven million new chronic kidney disease cases. Is included. Savings of US$800 million.
The authors said the modeling results make a strong case for India to mandate implementation of WHO’s sodium benchmarks, especially as people are increasingly consuming packaged foods.
A 30 percent reduction in sodium intake in the population by 2025 is one of nine global targets recommended by WHO for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
Countries including the UK, Argentina and South Africa have shown that setting targets regarding sodium content in packaged foods, as well as involving food manufacturers in reformulating sodium, can help in meeting targets. , can effectively reduce sodium levels in packaged foods, and thus reduce sodium intake. population, the authors said.
In India, he said, few interventions address the issue of high levels of sodium consumption.
The current national initiative, ‘Eat Right India’, launched in 2018 by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, aims to educate people about healthy eating, including cutting down on sodium, the researchers said.
However, how adopting sodium targets for packaged foods might potentially impact intake in the country’s population was not known, he said.
