Australians know that too much salt is bad for them - but they are not doing much about it.
That’s the finding of new research from the Australian Division of World Action on Salt and Health – and which is prompting manufacturers to support a new campaign to help reduce consumption rates.
The survey results were released with the launch of a new Awash campaign, “Drop the Salt!”, the first cohesive national salt reduction effort in Australia.
A number of organisations, including the Cancer Council NSW, CSIRO, Diabetes Australia NSW, Heart Research Institute, Menzies Research Institute, National Heart Foundation of Australia, and Unilever Australasia are supporting the campaign.
Results showed that while most Australians are ‘salt smart’, recognising that most salt comes from processed foods, and aware that it can cause high blood pressure and serious illness, few people are regularly checking labels for salt content and even fewer are acting on what they find.
“Most Australians are eating well above the six grams per day recommended by the National Heart Foundation of Australia,” said Awash chair Dr Bruce Neal. “It is not well understood that almost everyone’s health is being adversely affected by the salt they eat.”
The five-year “Drop the Salt!” campaign aims to reduce the salt intake in the Australian population to six grams a day by 2012.
Source: FOODweek team, May 15 2007.
Footnote: More information on reducing salt intake can be seen on a UK Government sponsored site aimed at reducing salt intake to 6gm per day click here. |