People of India are consuming more salt than required, ICMR report, risk of diseases

People in India are fond of eating spicy and salty food. But do you know that the amount of salt that every person should eat in a day has been fixed? Yes, eating salt in excess of a fixed amount can lead to serious heart diseases. Read here how much salt a person should eat in a day.

Excess Salt Consumption in India: Excess salt consumption is becoming a silent epidemic in India, due to which high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and kidney problems are increasing rapidly. Understanding this problem, scientists of ICMR's National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) have started a campaign to promote low-sodium salt and motivate people to eat less salt. In this, with the help of health workers, efforts are being made to reduce salt intake through campaigns like 'Ek Chutki' for change, by counseling people in villages and cities, raising awareness, and so on, so that heart-related diseases can be prevented in the country.

 

Excessive salt intake by Indians is taking the form of a silent epidemic in India, increasing the risk of high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, and kidney diseases in people. This information has been given by scientists of the National Institute of Epidemiology of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Scientists have started a community-based salt reduction study to address this problem, as well as focusing on low-sodium salt alternatives.

 

 

What is the limit of salt intake set by WHO?

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends salt intake to be less than five grams per person per day, while studies have revealed that Indians living in cities are consuming about 9.2 grams of salt per day, while in rural areas it is about 5.6 grams per day. Thus, salt intake across the country is more than the recommended amount.

What does the National Institute of Epidemiology say about eating salt?

Dr Sharan Murali, senior scientist at the National Institute of Epidemiology (NIE) and principal investigator of the study, said that a big hope to change this situation could be low-sodium salt. This is a form of salt in which a part of sodium chloride can be replaced with potassium or magnesium salts. Dr Murali said, low intake of sodium helps reduce blood pressure and keeps the heart healthy. Thus, low-sodium options become a meaningful option, especially for patients with hypertension. He said, simply switching to low-sodium salt can reduce blood pressure by an average of 7/4 millimeters of mercury. This is a small change, which has a big impact.

The campaign to reduce the amount of salt in food is in full swing

To tackle the problem of high salt consumption, NIE has launched a three-year intervention project in Punjab and Telangana. It is also supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Dr. Ganesh Kumar, a senior scientist at NIE involved in the study, said that the purpose of this research is to know how much effect it has when health workers working in Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs) advise people to eat less salt. Especially on those who already have high blood pressure. This will help in understanding whether this advice really reduces their blood pressure and salt intake or not.

Dr. Kumar said that we are currently in the first year of this project and our focus is on gathering initial information and preparing on the ground. At the same time, Dr. Murali said that the material being prepared to advise people is not fully ready yet. Our aim is to work with health workers working in villages and neighborhoods to create a method that is based on their experiences. This is not just a task of giving information to people, but it is an attempt to sit together, understand, listen and make something better together.

Promoting low-sodium salt (LSS)

To ensure that the method used works in real life, the NIE team conducted a survey of 300 shops in Chennai. They observed how many shops had low-salt salt (LSS) and its price. The survey revealed that LSS was available in only 28% of the shops. It was available in 52% of supermarkets, but only 4% of small grocery stores had this salt.

The price of this LSS was also much higher than that of common salt. While common salt is available for about Rs 2.7 for 100 grams, low-sodium salt is available for Rs 5.6, i.e. more than double. Dr. Murali said that these figures show that the demand for this salt is very low among the people, so even shopkeepers do not keep it. This means that people are not aware of it and it is not easily available, i.e. there is a lack of both information and access.

A pinch of campaign for change –

To spread awareness and encourage people to eat less salt, NIE recently launched a social media campaign called A Pinch for Change. The campaign uses infographics, facts and short messages in simple language on social media. Its aim is to make people understand that salt is not just on the surface, but is also hidden in food items. It also encourages people to adopt low-salt options and prepare people to make right decisions for heart health.