Mobilising the Americas for dietary salt reduction

Abstract

People are over-consuming salt, causing up to 30% of all cases of hypertension. 1 Joffres M Campbell NRC Manns B Tu K Estimate of the benefits of a population-based reduction in dietary sodium additives on hypertension and its related health care costs in Canada. Can J Cardiol. 2007; 23: 437-443 Summary Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (135) Google Scholar In the Pan-American region, hypertension prevalence ranges from 20% to 35%, with the higher proportions more often seen in Latin America. 2 Pereira M Lunet N Azevedo A Barros H Differences in prevalence, awareness, treatment and control of hypertension between developing and developed countries. J Hypertens. 2009; 27: 963-975 Crossref PubMed Scopus (429) Google Scholar , 3 Sanchez RA Ayala M Baglivo H et al. Latin American guidelines on hypertension. J Hypertens. 2009; 27: 905-922 Crossref PubMed Scopus (89) Google Scholar Salt intake, where measured, can be as high as 11·5 g a day per person, with by far the largest source in most cases being commercially processed foods. 4 Mattes RD Donnelly D Relative contributions of dietary sodium sources. Am J Clin Nutr. 1991; 10: 383-393 Crossref Scopus (488) Google Scholar , 5 Brown IJ Tzoulaki J Candeias V Elliott P Salt intakes around the world: implications for public health. Int J Epidemiol. 2009; 38: 791-813 Crossref PubMed Scopus (805) Google Scholar The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has responded with an initiative, “Cardiovascular Disease Prevention through Dietary Salt Reduction”. For a 2-year period, beginning in September, 2009, it is supporting a Regional Expert Group: 18 leaders in nutrition and chronic diseases from universities, government agencies, and research institutions in north, south, and central America, the Caribbean, and Europe.