Sponsored section
| Wouter Lox, Managing Director, EuSalt |
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The EU salt industry believes in the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and questions the effectiveness of nutrient reduction programs.
Public health is one of the major challenges of the 21st Century. In today’s society specific attention is given to the improvement of public health by a.o. putting policy programs in place to fight obesity or to reduce cardio-vascular mortality. National and international policymakers set out strategies aimed at improving the consumers’ health. One of the recent examples, are the nutrient reduction programs, and especially salt reduction programs.
Governments are in the process of imposing salt reduction programs. Various recent scientific studies question however the scientific logic and feasibility of the long term effort to limit salt intake in healthy humans.
Although no one denies the fact that salt has an impact on blood pressure and that high blood pressure is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, there are however many factors influencing this risk. Changing our lifestyle may help reduce blood pressure more than simply reducing salt. Eating more fruit and vegetables, reducing the intake of calories, lowering stress, increasing physical activity and losing weight have proven to be more effective in lowering blood pressure than just reducing salt.
The fact that more and more research is skeptical about the beneficial effect of generic salt reduction programs for the overall population leads to a more outspoken non-consensus in the scientific world with regard to the relationship between salt reduction and improved public health. In view of this non-consensus, EuSalt calls for a regular assessment of salt reduction programs and their impact on public health improvement and decreased mortality. There is clearly no conclusive evidence illustrating the overall positive effects of salt reduction programs for the overall population.
Moreover, founding entire policies on just one nutrient is misleading towards the European citizens in EuSalt’s view, as it does not incite consumers to change dietary patterns or lifestyles.
Instead of focusing on single nutrients, EuSalt believes the Commission should be promoting weight control and well-balanced, healthy lifestyles. Salt plays an undeniable, vital role in daily life; adopting a salt reduction program implicates risks for nutrient imbalance for specific population groups with specific nutrient requirements.
EuSalt therefore proposes to focus the health policy on lifestyle changes and dietary patterns and not on sole nutrient reductions. EuSalt calls for thorough and regular assessment of the impact of the programs that have been or will be put in place.
With regards to the public health domain, EuSalt – as a responsible stakeholder - invites the concerned policymakers to look at a broad and transparent consultation of stakeholders to tackle this particular challenge. EuSalt has signed the EU Commission Register and is keen to be involved in the upcoming consultations on health.
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What the Chiefs Say is a public affairs platform designed for senior executives from leading organisations to voice their expectations and concerns.
In this issue, business and industry leaders present to Europe’s policymakers their policies and priorities.
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