NEW DELHI: Complying with WHO-recommended sodium intake levels could avert three lakh deaths from heart disease and chronic kidney disease within 10 years, according to a modelling study by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
High levels of sodium, a key component of salt, are among the leading dietary risks for death and disability. In high-income countries, packaged foods represent a major source of sodium intake, a trend increasingly seen in low- and middle-income countries as well.
However, researchers, including those from The George Institute for Global Health, Hyderabad, noted that India currently lacks a national sodium reduction strategy. Indians consume nearly twice the WHO-recommended intake, compounded by rising consumption of packaged foods.
The WHO advises limiting sodium intake to under two grams per day—equivalent to less than a teaspoon, or five grams, of salt daily.
Published in The Lancet Public Health journal, the study highlighted significant potential health benefits and cost savings from meeting these sodium intake guidelines within a decade.
Benefits include averting 17 lakh cardiovascular events—such as heart attacks and strokes—and seven lakh new chronic kidney disease cases, along with an estimated USD 800 million in savings.
"The modelling results make a strong case for India to mandate the implementation of WHO’s sodium benchmarks, especially as people are increasingly consuming packaged food," the authors stated.
WHO’s global targets for non-communicable disease prevention and control include a 30 per cent reduction in sodium intake by 2025.
Other countries, including the UK, Argentina, and South Africa, have successfully set sodium content targets in packaged foods and engaged manufacturers to reformulate products. This approach has been effective in reducing sodium intake across their populations.
In India, there are limited interventions addressing the high levels of sodium intake, the researchers noted.
The ‘Eat Right India’ initiative, launched in 2018 by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, seeks to educate the public on healthier eating, including reducing sodium consumption.
However, the researchers pointed out that the impact of adopting sodium targets for packaged foods on sodium intake nationwide remains unclear.
Reducing sodium consumption is a critical step in tackling rising rates of heart and kidney disease in India, the study suggests.Meeting WHO's sodium recommendations could avert deaths from heart, kidney disease: Study