Meetings are scheduled to want the Algarve’s residents that they are adding far too much salt to their meals.
The Order of Nutritionists is expounding its latest concern about salt’s relationship with hypertension.
"This is the region where the Portuguese add the most salt to food on the plate (36%) and in which more than 55% of the population is overweight or obese," reads the Order’s statement, citing a study from the National Institute of Health’s, Dr Ricardo Jorge.
This habit "translates easily into numbers," since 33% of the Algarvian people are hypertensive, a chronic disease that is directly associated with their food choices, namely excessive salt consumption.
"Changes in eating habits are fundamental, but they are only possible when there is a set of actions aimed at improving the knowledge and behaviors of the population and when there is a change of availability in the food environment. The presence of nutritionists in health centres is essential to change this and other habits that are harmful to health," said Alexandra Bento, head of the Order of Nutritionists.
The Algarve has six nutritionists in health centers, a ratio that the official considers "far short of that recommended by the Order of Nutritionists to meet the population’s needs."
The meetings kicked off today with the president of the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve, Paulo Morgado, after which there will be visits to Faro’s Hospital and Health Centre, Albufeira and Tavira’s Council offices and the Sotavento Health Centers group.
The salt awareness initiative runs until December, and will have passed through more than 40 institutions in the country.
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The UN Library of Medicine comments:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) strongly recommended to reduce dietary salt intake as one of the top priority actions to tackle the global non-communicable disease crisis and has urged member nations to take action to reduce population wide dietary salt intake to decrease the number of deaths from hypertension, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
However, some scientists still advocate the possibility of increased risk of Cardiovascular Disease morbidity and mortality at extremes of low salt intake. Future research may inform the optimal sodium reduction strategies and intake targets for general populations. Until then, we have to continue to build consensus around the greatest benefits of salt reduction for Cardiovascular Disease prevention, and dietary salt intake reduction strategies must remain at the top of the public health agenda.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4105387/
See also 'How to eat less salt'
