ECONOMYNEXT – Adults in Sri Lanka consumed twice as much salt as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) though with lower -than-recommended levels of potassium intake and optimum levels of iodine intake, a study has found.
The 2020 study, conducted by the Medical Research Institute (MRI) together with the Sri Lanka Health and Ageing Study Consortium (SLHAS), among a population of 629 adults between the ages of 25 and 65 years, showed that salt intake was more than double the recommended level and potassium intake is lower than the recommended level.
“Extra effort is required to reduce salt and increase potassium intake as planned,” the study said, noting that, in 2019, Sri Lanka had initiated a salt reduction strategy to reduce salt consumption to eight grammes a day by 2025.
The mean age of the participants in the study was 46 years, and 54.5 % were females. A majority were Sinhalese (78.1 percent), Buddhist (73.8 percent), rural (79.7 percent) and educated above than grade 11 (56.6 percent).
The measured median and mean salt intake for adults aged 25–64 years was 11.4 and 13.3 grammes per day respectively, which is higher than the value reported in previous studies in Sri Lanka and other countries.
Salt intake among men was significantly higher than women (12.5 vs. 10.4 grammes per day) as shown in other studies. There was no difference in median salt intake between groups, apart from education. Overall, 88.4 % of the participants had higher salt intake than the WHO recommended <5 g/day.
Potassium intakes were below the recommended minimum levels required to lower blood pressure. Mean daily intake of potassium in males was significantly higher than females (2.3 vs. 1.9 g/day). There was no difference in mean potassium intake by age, residency, blood pressure, ethnicity and religion, apart from BMI. Approximately 84 percent of the participants had lower potassium intake than the WHO recommended > 3.5 g/day.
Meanwhile, the daily intake of iodine in men was significantly higher than women (239.1 vs. 197.6 μg/day). The measured 24-h iodine intake between age groups residing in urban or rural areas, BMI categories, blood pressure groups, ethnic and religion groups did not show any differences. Overall, 29.6 percent of the participants had lower iodine intake than the WHO recommended > 150 μg/day.
Urban consumption of salt, according to the study, was at 11.6 g/day, while rural representatives in the population consumed 11.1 grammers per day.
In terms of ethnicity,, salt consumption was highest among Tamils at 11.5 g/day, while among religious communities, Hindus consumed the highest at 11.8 g/day.
Sri Lanka reported a mean salt intake of 8.8 grammes a day in 2012, which rose to 12.4 grammes in 2016. Sri Lanka is committed to implementing the National Salt Reduction Strategy 2018-2022 (NSRS) with the overall aim of a 30 percent reduction in mean population intake of salt/sodium by 2025.
Salt reduction strategies are a “best buy” in the prevention of Non-Communicable diseases, because it is considered a feasible and cost effective public health initiative in preventing disabilities and deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and stroke, Dr Renuka Jayatissa of the MRI said.
A salt intake of less than 5 grammes (approximately 2g sodium) per person per day is recommended by the WHO for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of death globally.
The global target set by the WHO is to reduce salt intake by 30 percent towards 5 grammes per day and is part of the nine global targets to reduce the burden of non-communicable diseases.
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease, and diabetes, are the leading cause of death worldwide and represent an emerging global health threat.
In many high income countries, approximately 75% of salt in the diet comes from processed foods and meals prepared outside the home, a statement from the WHO said.
Further, in many low- and middle-income countries, most sodium consumption comes from salt added at home in cooking and at the table or through condiments such as fish sauce and soy sauce, the statement said.
The statement noted that an annual of 2.5 million deaths are reported due to heart attacks and stroke.
The SLHAS consortium is a group of organisations including the Institute for Health Policy (IHP), University of Colombo, University of Ruhuna, University of Peradeniya and Rajarata University which collaboratively conduct the Sri Lanka Health and Ageing Study. (Colombo/Jun24/2023)