Salt Awareness Week
World Salt Awareness Week is an annual event run by campaigning body CASH (Consensus Action on Salt and Health). It will run from 21st-27th March 2011. This week long campaign aims to raise awareness on salt health and reduce salt intake through a national media campaign.
Everyday around 26 million adults in the UK eat too much sodium, the main component of salt - this can raise blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. High blood pressure is the main cause of stroke and a major cause of heart attack and heart failure, the most common causes of death and illness in the world.
In 2011, Salt Awareness Week's theme will be "Salt and Men's Health," aiming to raise awareness among young men. Research shows that men have higher blood pressure than women, particularly at a young age; are less likely to have their BP measured; and are less likely to take action to reduce it when it is raised or take BP lowering drugs. They also eat more salt on average compared with women (9.7g per day versus 7.7g per day) and eat less fruit and vegetables. WASH (CASH's worldwide sister organisation) feel a public campaign to make men more aware of the risks they are running and make them more responsible for their own health would help prevent many young men dying from heart related diseases.
CASH not only aim to influence consumers, but also the food manufacturers, who contribute 75-80% of salt in the UK diet. Foods such bread, smoked meats, barbeque foods and processed foods contain high levels of salt and make significant contributions to the daily recommended sodium intake.
The campaign is supported by leading health charities like the British Heart Foundation and the Stroke Association as well as industry leaders such as LoSalt, who have helped advertise and educate consumers about the dangers of excess sodium and ways to reduce it in their diet.
If you would like to offer your support for World Salt Awareness Week 2011, please email c.e.farrand@qmul.ac.uk
Written 17/2/2011
Taken from The Journal of Clinical Hypertension's article ‘World Salt Awareness Week' (He F.J., Jenner K.H., Farrand C.E., MacGregor G.A. 2011)
