Health experts say reduced consumption of salt can save lives

World Heart Federation says too much consumption of salt is one of the risk factors of Cardiovascular Disease such as hypertension.
A new study released by the federation’s World Congress on Cardiology in Melbourne, Australia, says thousands of lives and millions of dollars can be saved by the implementation of national targets to reduce salt consumption.
This was contained in a statement signed by Precious Nkabinde, on behalf of WCC, a global platform for cardiovascular disease specialists and public health professionals to share knowledge and network with their peers.
The statement, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja, said experts agreed that most populations consumed too much salt.
It said that there was increasing international pressure in the health community and in governments to reduce the population’s salt intake, which had been shown to reduce the burden of CVD.
According to Dr. David Watkins, the study’s lead author: “Many studies have looked at the health benefits from reducing salt in various parts of the world.
“But ours is one of the first to estimate some of the economic impacts.
“We took the case of South Africa, where the government recently passed ambitious regulations to reduce salt in processed foods.
“Our study indicates that in South Africa, successfully implementing national targets like these could not only save thousands of lives each year, but also avoid millions of dollars in health care expenses.”
Watkins, who is also a physician-researcher at the University of Cape Town and the University of Washington, said too much salt “is a hidden killer”.
The statement said the increasing burden of CVD had to be combated through advocacy efforts.
It added that governments had a vital role to play in ensuring improved heart-healthy environment through a combination of public and national regulations such as salt targets.
According to the statement: “To mark World Heart Day 2014 on September 29, the World Heart Federation and its members are putting a spotlight on creating heart-healthy environments.
“We are also calling for a world where people do not face overwhelming displays of unhealthy fast food or unwholesome school meal, all of which often contain high levels of salt.”