PS-P14-4: ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE “ADEQUATE SALT INTAKE” IN AMAGASAKI CITY

Abstract

To promote the prevention and treatment of hypertension, it is essential to educate the public. Since 2015, the city of Amagasaki, where I practice, has been conducting activities to promote health through multidisciplinary cooperation. First of all, volunteers from the Amagasaki City Medical Association gathered to form the “Amagasaki Adequate Salt Intake Promotion Committee”. Next, in a tie-up with Amagasaki City's Health Up Amagasaki Strategic Project, which has been focusing on measures against metabolic syndrome, the committee has reserved a hotel for a day to hold a hands-on forum where citizens can participate in not only lectures on health and medicine, but also a movie screening and low-sodium cooking experiences. The event has been held in a hands-on manner. In addition, active interventions have been made for a wide range of age groups, such as active intervention for particularly high-risk subjects in health checkups, health checkups by placing health checkup vehicles in convenience store parking lots for younger generations who are less likely to receive checkups, and 2.2 g salt equivalent school lunches. In particular, forums for citizens, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, dietitians, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, universities, the Japanese Association of Hypertension, and Amagasaki City Administration have worked together to devise new approaches every year for four years, which have resulted in the participation of a large number of citizens. The key point is that we aimed to create a social environment in which salt reduction can be implemented as a matter of course in society, rather than relying solely on the efforts of individuals. Another feature of the event was that it was not targeted only at the elderly, who are highly interested in health, but was also designed to be an interactive event that young people can participate in with their children. In the future, we plan to continue our efforts with our colleagues to build a future in which “Adequate Salt Intake” is a part of daily life, while involving more industries.