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The modern world includes fast-paced lives where people find it hard to take the time to cook fresh homemade food. Resorting to packaged food and takeouts might be saving time, but the underlying health implications are concerning. The alarming rate of deaths due to heart conditions and chronic kidney diseases has brought WHO’s (World Health Organisation) attention to the world’s sodium intake.
Excessive intake of sodium is a silent but powerful contributor to not just India but the global health crisis. WHO came out with new guidelines for safe consumption levels of sodium to manage the potential health hazards. Compiling the guidelines and India’s trends, a recent study was published in the journal The Lancet Public Health.
As per reports, the study suggests that following the set sodium benchmarks by WHO can decrease the number of deaths by up to 13 lakh in 10 years in India. Read on to learn more about the study and the sodium benchmarks.
Sodium Benchmarks By WHO
WHO’s sodium benchmarks aim to reduce sodium levels in various food categories, which mainly target packed and processed foods. The guidelines not only suggest consumers pick the products wisely but also urge the authorities to make low-sodium options widely available in the market. The benchmarks encourage a reduction in sodium content for foods like snacks, snacks, bread, soups, processed foods, and ready-to-eat meals, which often contain hidden sodium.
Funded by the WHO Country Office India, as per the recently published study, “Currently, there are few interventions to address high sodium intake in India, particularly sodium from increasing processed and packaged food consumption. The current national initiative, Eat Right India, launched in 2018 by the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, aims to educate the population on reducing sodium intake as part of a broader awareness campaign about healthy eating.”
Reportedly, India faces an urgent sodium-related health crisis. High reliance on salt-heavy packaged foods, coupled with a diet that often includes traditional high-sodium items, exacerbates the risk of cardiovascular diseases among Indians. The study points out that while WHO guides to having less than 5 g salt per day, on average, an Indian consumes 8-11 g daily, resulting in more than millions of deaths each year, primarily due to a heart stroke or chronic conditions.
As per the study, “Our estimates suggest that mandated compliance to WHO's sodium benchmarks for packaged foods in India could avert approximately 19 million incident cases of cardiovascular and kidney disease over the population's lifetime. Such an approach has a high likelihood of cost saving, with a 100% probability over the first 10 and 25 years, and an 84% probability over the population's lifetime.”
The reports further conclude that reducing sodium intake in India’s population could also promote better nutrition awareness among consumers. As food manufacturers adjust their formulations, consumers will have healthier options readily available, allowing for greater control over their sodium intake.
