NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER May 2011 Issue 5 This newsletter is designed to keep you up to date on INSIDE THIS ISSUE: the progress of salt reduction around the world. WASH members are welcome to contribute to the 1. Message from the Chairman Newsletter with any interesting salt related news 2. WASH news stories, or progress updates on salt reduction programs around the world. Please email me at: 3. World Salt Awareness Week [email protected] 4. Recent publications Kind regards, Clare Farrand 5. International news WASH is now on Twitter—Follow us 6. Country updates @ WASHSALT 7. Upcoming events WASH MEMBER NEWS 8. Taking action in your country Introduction from Professor Graham MacGregor, Chairman of WASH World Action on Salt and Health (WASH) was established in October 2005 with the aim of bringing about a gradual reduction in salt intake throughout the world. We encourage and support our expert members in different countries to promote salt We are happy to welcome all new members, and reduction by setting up their own local campaigns. encourage WASH members to spread the invitation to their international colleagues. Please email: Best wishes, [email protected] for further information. WASH membership has now grown to 423 individuals from 82 countries. New members include experts from: Brazil, Bulgaria, Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey and the USA. Click on the map above to view a members list 1 WORLD SALT AWARENESS WEEK 2011 message of salt reduction and spur countries into World Salt Awareness action to reduce their salt intake by raising Week was a fantastic awareness of the importance of salt reduction. success thanks to the hard work and dedication New report on salt levels in pizzas around the world of our members. WASH released a new report that revealed The topic this year was excessively high salt (sodium) levels in many pizzas ‘Salt and Men’s Health’ around the world, with some pizzas containing twice which was identified as a the salt content of the same pizzas in other countries. result of UK research which showed that more men WASH surveyed the salt and sodium content of over die prematurely of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than 500 pizza products available around the world from women; CVD accounts for 29% of preventable deaths well known international pizza outlets such as Pizza in men compared to 21% in women. The research Hut, Domino’s, Eagle Boys and Papa John’s, as well as shows that men eat more salt than women and on those available in supermarkets and grocery stores. average have a higher blood pressure than women, Click here to view the full report particularly at a younger age, and are less likely to have their blood pressure measured, to take action Click here for full data to reduce it when it is raised or to take blood pressure lowering drugs. It is suspected that this is Below is a spotlight on activities that took place also the case in many counties around the world. around the world: Countries around the world were invited to focus on The Pan American Health the suggested theme; ‘Salt and Men’s Health’ and/or Organisation (PAHO) organised tailor it to their own country’s needs. This year a webinar on Salt and Men's activities ranged from full day symposiums in Sweden health which was widely to radio interviews in South Africa and the launch of received. WASH and many a local project in Bulgaria to produce the first salt‐ experts from around the world free region in Varna. WASH is thrilled that so many participated in this event, which countries took part this year. World Salt Awareness focussed on: salt intake and Week is a prime opportunity to deliver the important health with a special emphasis 2 on men; the role of NGOs in promoting lower salt In Canada, the Canadian Stroke Network concurrent intakes; and results from a study conducted by with Salt Awareness Week, announced the launch of Consumers International in Chile, Argentina, Costa sodium 101 for the Iphone. The Iphone app is free Rica, Ecuador and Canada on consumers knowledge and designed to help users stay within their daily and opinions on salt intake. If you would like to view recommended sodium intake. For more information the webinar please click here please click on the image below. Webinar hosted by the Pan American Health Organisation, , Washington In Sweden a joint meeting of the National Food Administration and Swedish arm of WASH was held The Australian division of World Action on Salt and on the 23rd March 2011. Forty representatives from Health (AWASH), in line with Salt Awareness Week, institutions, consumer organisations, food industry organised a debate hosted by the George Institute, and influential weekly journals attended the meeting. Sydney. The event was attended by about 100 A new attempt to legislate on salt content of foods people including representatives from the food and was discussed and it was agreed that a committee catering industries, health professionals, food critics, would be set down to take this challenge. The academics and media personnel. National Food Administration of Sweden accepted Click here to view the full report the task to Chair this committee—which will report at the next meeting in 6‐12 months. The National Heart Foundation of Bangladesh held a press conference and a round table meeting attended by leading physicians, cardiologists, nutritionists, and the food industry. The NHF also held 3 television and press interviews to highlight the The UK celebrated Salt Awareness Week with dangers of a high salt diet. national media coverage following a survey on men’s favourite foods—which identified pies amongst the top five favourite. Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) then surveyed the salt content of pies from well known pub and restaurant chains and revealed the unacceptably high levels of salt. This gained significant national media coverage. The week also saw a reception held at the House of Commons with representation from the UK government, experts from industry and the UK’s leading health charities, including the British Heart Foundation, The Stroke Association, National Osteoporosis Society and Cancer Research UK. Please click here for more information Please click on the picture below to view Salt and Men’s health leaflet Leaflets produced by the NHF Bangladesh for WSAW 2011 In the USA, Los Angeles raised awareness amongst the residents of LA to take action to reduce their salt intake through the release of their ’Salt Shocker’ videos which exposed foods with excessive amounts of sodium. A new video was released each day during World Salt Awareness Week. To view the ‘Salt Shocker’ videos please click here To read the press release please click here 4 WASH compiled an International Low Salt Recipe the major factor putting up blood pressure, but Book with contributions form WASH members. paying attention to your weight can ultimately create better overall health. WASH would like to extend its sincere thanks to all members who kindly submitted low salt recipes. To If salt intake were halved, it would save download your complimentary International Low Salt approximately 2.5 million lives a year worldwide. Cookbook please click here Please click here to visit WHL website Click here to read the latest WHL latest newsletter WORLD HYPERTENSION DAY RECENT PUBLICATIONS WASH was pleased to support The World Interested in developing a national programme to Hypertension League’s (WHL) World Hypertension reduce dietary salt? WASH members Professor Norm Day on 17th May 2010. This years theme is ‘Know Campbell, Professor Bruce Neal and WASH Chairman your numbers and target your blood pressure’. The Professor Graham MacGregor have published a day serves to raise awareness on: guidance framework on how to develop a national programme to reduce dietary salt. The manuscript • The importance of measuring your blood outlines a sequence of steps that need to be taken, pressure regularly and provides suggestions on how to adapt to your • The importance of knowing what your blood national situation. pressure reading means—diastolic and systolic blood pressure Click here for the full paper in the Journal of Human The day also serves to remind consumers that salt is Hypertension 5 World Salt Awareness Week: A paper detailing the impaired after a high‐salt meal in healthy subjects, great work carried out by WASH members during published by Dickenson et al in the Americanl Journa World Salt Awareness Week was published in the of Clinical Nutrition showed blood flow was Journal of Clinical Hypertension. The paper highlights 'significantly more impaired' within 30 minutes of the importance of World Salt Awareness Week, and eating the salty meal than the low‐salt alternative and salt reductions and briefly outlines activities which the restriction reached a peak after an hour. The other countries have undertaken to raise awareness. study showed the amount of salt similar to that in a commonly eaten meal impairs blood flow in healthy Click here to read the full editorial in The Journal of men and women. Doctors found arteries rapidly lost Clinical Hypertension some of their ability to pump blood because of the damaging effects of salt and thought it to be a very early sign of heart disease. The research calls for the Sodium study in JAMA dismissed by World’s leading mechanisms to be investigated more intensively. experts. A recent paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association claimed that a lower Click here to access the full article in the American salt intake was associated with a higher Journal of Clinical Nutrition cardiovascular mortality in spite of a lower blood pressure.