Salt and ethnic groups 2006
Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) launched its 7th National Salt Awareness Week on Sunday 29th January- Saturday 4th February, 2006. The theme for the Week was ethnic minority groups with emphasis on black (African Caribbean) and South Asian populations. These groups were chosen because of greater sensitivity to the effects of salt. It has been estimated that reducing salt from the current national average of 10-12g per day to below the 6g maximum recommended target will reduce the risk of strokes by a huge 45% and heart disease by 35%.
Two media releases were issued during the Week. The first highlighted the shocking levels of salt in popular Indian and Chinese takeaways foods: one Chinese dish had almost 16g of salt in one portion, around 2.5 times more salt than an adult should eat in a whole day. The second press release focused on the African Caribbean population highlighting their greater sensitivity to salt. Also included in this release was the salt content of popular African and Caribbean dishes, with almost all dishes containing more than the maximum daily salt recommendation for adults (6g) in one dish.
Objectives
- Focus on ethnic groups who are particularly susceptible to the effects of salt: focusing mainly on the African Caribbean population
- Show that this vulnerable group is more sensitive to the effects of salt regarding raising blood pressure, and increasing the risk of stokes, heart attacks and kidney disease
- Show that the whole of the UK population consumes almost twice as much salt as is recommended, which is detrimental to health
- Planned numerous media-driven projects around our main theme
- To encourage health promotion units, dieticians and other healthcare professionals to host their own events, to tie in with the National Salt Awareness event. Posters, leaflets and other resources have been developed for health professionals pack.
