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Source: The post is based on the article “Indians eat more salt than WHO recommendation” published in “The Hindu” on 26th September 2023.
What is the News?
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has published a study on salt intake among Indians in the journal Nature.
What are the key findings of the study?
Source: The Hindu
High Salt Intake in India: The estimated mean daily salt intake in India is 8 g, which exceeds the World Health Organization’s recommended limit of up to 5 g per day.
– This excessive salt intake is more common among men, people in rural areas, and those who are overweight or obese.
– Salt intake was higher in employed people, and current tobacco users and those with high blood pressure.
Why is this study relevant?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), restricting salt intake is one of the most beneficial and cost-effective methods to reduce the incidence of blood pressure by 25%.
A high sodium level in the diet also increases the stroke and cardiac failure severity.Salty diet is responsible for 3 million deaths globally because of cardiovascular diseases.
In India, cardiovascular diseases account for an estimated 28.1% of the total deaths in India.In 2016, 1.63 million deaths were attributable to hypertension as against 0.78 million deaths in 1990.
