The campaign "Salt Awareness Week" - 4 to 10 March- aims to encourage the implementation of evidence-based interventions to reduce salt consumption in the population. The Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) joins the global community effort sharing technical tools to develop and implement comprehensive policies for salt reduction and key messages to promote healthy practices at home, schools and working place.
Read below to check on the activities organized to mark Salt Awareness Day, which include a in a webinar on March 6th to present the initiatives taking place in the Region of the Americas to promote policies and measures to reduce salt consumption, and a live cooking session. Also, check, download and share the advocacy materials to take action to reduce salt intake.
Best-buys to reduce salt/sodium consumption
That excessive consumption of salt/sodium adversely affects blood pressure is irrefutable. Consuming less than 5 g/ salt (< 2 g of sodium) per adult per day, from all sources, is the WHO recommended intake and the target that countries are to aim for with their dietary salt/sodium reduction initiatives. Salt/sodium consumption in the Region of the Americas is well above the recommended level. Among eight countries in the Region with data as of 2015, daily salt intake per person ranges from 8.5 g to 15 g.
The reduction of salt/sodium consumption is one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent hypertension and CVDs. It’s time to take ACTION on salt! through:
- The reformulation of food products to contain less salt/sodium and the setting of target levels for the amount of salt/sodium in foods and meals.
- The establishment of a supportive environment in public institutions such as hospitals, schools, workplaces and nursing homes, to enable lower sodium options to be provided.
- Behavior change communication and mass media campaigns to raise awareness on salt consumption reduction.
- The implementation of front-of-pack labeling to provide easy to read and understand information for consumers.
- Monitoring (salt/sodium population intake; knowledge, attitudes and behavior - KAB; salt/sodium food content - reformulation)
Technical documents
SHAKE. Technical package for salt reductionACTIVITIES
6 March - Webinar "Less Salt, More Health"
The program includes an overview of the activities planned for 2019 by the PAHO Technical Advisory Group on Cardiovascular Diseases Prevention Through Population Wide Dietary Salt Reduction, as well as the presentation of the Network of Action on Strategies for Reducing Sodium Consumption and Prevention and Control of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Americas and the Caribbean. Finally, attendants will have the opportunity to learn about a food label analysis on sodium leves in packaged foods.
- DATE: Wednesday, 6 March, 2019
- RECORDINGS: (Click on the preferred language and in the new window, select "Playback")
4 March - Cooking with PAHO - Live cooking session to consum less salt
Cooking with PAHO was a live session broadcastes in Instagram on March 4th, in which our experts showed how to prepare a delicious and healthy low-salt fish recipe.
In case you couldn´t watch it live, here is the recording (Note: the session was conducted only in Spanish)
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