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World Action on Salt. Sugar & Health

World Salt Awareness Week 2017 Template Press Release

 

EMBARGOED 00.01 

 

Salt Is The Forgotten Killer – Take Action Now Warns (WASH member/organisation, complete as appropriate)

 

PICTURED: (from left) (your name) from (place of work) kicks off WASH’s (World Action on Salt and Health) 10th World Salt Awareness Week (20 – 27 March 2017) with (fill in the type of event you are holding). 

OR

Local (title), (your name), of (organisation) is helping in the battle to reduce (your country’s) salt consumption by organising (fill in the type of event you are holding) at (place and time/date of event), to support WASH’s (World Action on Salt and Health) 10th World Salt Awareness Week, running from 20 – 27 March 2017.

In (enter Country name) we are all eating too much salt, with an average intake of (enter salt intake) per day, much more than the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) maximum daily intake of 5g per day [Ref 2]. During World Salt Awareness Week, we are calling on manufacturers to put less salt in our food, and we would like to ask everyone to read food labels and choose the lower salt options – it’s as easy as that!

Salt raises our blood pressure, and as a result, hundreds of thousands of people around the world die unnecessarily each year from strokes, heart attacks and heart failure [Ref 1]. Many people don’t even realise they are eating too much salt.

In the UK, according to an independent poll (on behalf of Consensus Action on Salt and Health by Opinion Matters which surveyed 1,000 adults in the UK), only 40% of the British public know that a teaspoon of salt is the maximum amount of salt you should have in a day (5g), with nearly a quarter of the population (23%) being unsure what the correct answer is.  58% of respondents believe it should be the responsibility of the food industry to proactively reduce salt content in their products.

Worryingly, when it comes to the health risks of eating too much salt, only 12% of the British public thought that excessive salt consumption was the biggest cause of high blood pressure, whilst only 34% of people are aware that eating too much salt increases the risk of stroke.

As (your name and organisation) says, “People seem to have forgotten that salt puts up your blood pressure, leading to strokes and heart attacks.  We are all eating too much salt, this is because it is often already in the food we buy or order. Eating less salt doesn’t have to be difficult; everyone both at home, and out of the home, can take action.

“Simply by reading the labels, switching to lower salt options and not adding salt during cooking and using tasty ingredients such as herbs, spices and citrus, you can make a huge difference to your salt intake.  You might even be surprised how great your food tastes!

Graham MacGregor, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine and Chairman of WASH comments:

“Salt damages our health.  Salt reduction is the simplest and most cost effective measure to prevent thousands of unnecessary deaths from stroke and heart attacks every year. It is not just down to the individuals; manufactures must stop adding salt to our foods. During World Salt Awareness Week you can do something great for your health by eating less salt.”

ENDS -

  • For further information, please contact (your name) on (phone no.) and (email)
  • or contact WASH’s PR at werockpr@gmail.com /07773 225516

For more information on salt and health, please visit www.worldactiononsalt.com @WASHSALT #LessSaltPlease

Ref 2 - World Health Organization (2006) Reducing salt intake in populations. Report of a WHO Forum and Technical meeting 5–7 October 2006, Paris, France. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/reducingsaltintake_ EN.pdf.

 

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