Policy Options for Reducing Dietary Sodium Intake

Auteurs-es

  • Lindsay McLaren University of Calgary

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v5i0.42387

Résumé

Faced with soaring health-care costs, Canadian governments should consider creative ways to enable the population to stay healthy — and making it possible for Canadians to reduce their sodium intake is an extremely cost-effective way to do so. Excess sodium consumption is a risk factor for high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease. On average, Canadians consume 3,400 mg of sodium a day (1,100 mg over recommended levels), at least three-quarters of which comes from processed foods. Any attempt at sodium reduction must therefore involve the food industry. This paper surveys sodium reduction efforts in jurisdictions around the globe, as well as past Canadian attempts, to provide provincial and federal policymakers with a comprehensive suite of lessons learned and a host of far-sighted policy recommendations ranging from food procurement to legislation and private sector engagement. Provincial governments, individually or together, must launch multi-pronged efforts involving food service companies, manufacturers, post-secondary institutes and the media to ensure that low-sodium alternatives are readily available, and that consumers are aware of them. They must also support federal action on changing dietary guidelines and introducing restrictions on food advertising to children. The benefits to be had are very real. In light of evidence showing that population-level intervention is superior to clinical intervention in terms of cost-effectiveness, returning up to $11.10 for every dollar spent and generating tens of billions in direct health-care savings, there is a very strong case for investing in population-level sodium reduction interventions that will work. The time for governments to act is now.

Références

Aleksandrova K, Pischon T, Weikert C. “Letter: Urinary sodium excretion and cardiovascular disease mortality,” JAMA 2011; 306:1083.

Andersen L, Rasmussen LB, Larsen EH, Jakobsen J. “Intake of household salt in a Danish population,” Eur J Clin Nutr 2009; 63:598-604.

Bibbins-Domingo K, Chertow GM, Coxson PG, Moran A, Lightwood JM, Pletcher MJ, Goldman L. “Projected effect of dietary salt reductions on future cardiovascular disease,” New Engl J Med 2010; 362:590-599.

CBC radio. “Salt: interview with Dr. Norm Campbell, Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary,” The Homestretch (Alberta programming), July 11, 2011. Available online at: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Radio/Local_Shows/Alberta/The_Homestretch/1366093611/ID=2052384638

CIHR Institute of Population and Public Health. Available online at: http://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/13777.html

Cecchini M, Sassi F, Lauer JA, Lee YY, Guajardo-Barron V, Chisholm D. “Tackling of unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, and obesity: health effects and cost-effectiveness,” Lancet 2010 11/20; 376(9754):1775-1784.

Cobiac LJ, Vos T, Veerman JL. “Cost-effectiveness of interventions to reduce dietary salt intake,” Heart 2010; 96:1920-1925.

Dall TM, Fulgoni VL, Zhang Y, Reimers KJ, Packard PT, Astwood JD. “Potential health benefits and medical cost savings from calorie, sodium, and saturated fat reductions in the American diet,” Am J Health Promotion 2009; 23:412-422.

Dolega-Cieszkowski JH, Bobyn JP, Whiting SJ. “Dietary intakes of Canadians in the 1990s using population-weighted data derived from the provincial nutrition surveys,” Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2006; 31:753-758.

Drewnowski A. “Obesity, diets, and social inequalities,” Nutr Rev 2009; 67(Suppl 1):S36-39.

Dubois L, Girard M. “Social position and nutrition: a gradient relationship in Canada and the USA,” Eur J Clin Nutr 2001; 55:366-373.

Dutton DJ, Campbell NRC, Elliott C, McLaren L. “A ban on marketing of foods/beverages to children: the who, what, why, and how of a population health intervention,” Can J Public Health in press.

Éditeur officiel du Québec. Consumer Protection Act. 1978:248-249.

Elliott C. “Assessing ‘fun foods’: nutritional content and analysis of supermarket foods targeted at children,” Obes Rev 2008; 9:368-377.

Elliott P, Brown I. “Sodium intakes around the world.” Background document prepared for the Forum and Technical meeting on Reducing Salt Intake in Populations (Paris 5th-7th October 2006). Geneva: World Health Organization, 2007.

Ezzati M, Lopez AD, Rodgers A, Vander Hoorn S, Murray CJ. “Comparative risk assessment collaborating group,” Lancet 2002; 360(9343):1347-60.

Fischer PWF, Vigneault M, Huang R, Arvaniti K, Roach P. “Sodium food sources in the Canadian Diet,” Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2009; 34:884-892.

Forte JG, Pereira Miguel JM, Pereira Miguel MJ, de Padua F, Rose G. “Salt and blood pressure: a community trial,” J Hum Hypertens 1989; 3:179-184.

Garriguet D. “Sodium consumption at all ages,” Health Rep 2007; 18:47-52.

Garriguet D. “Canadians’ eating habits,” Health Rep 2007; 18(2), May.

Gase LN, Kuo T, Dunet DO, Simon PA. “Facilitators of and barriers to implementing a local policy to reduce sodium consumption in the County of Los Angeles government, California, 2009,” Prev Chron Dis 2011; 8(2). [Gase et al. 2011a]

Gase LN, Kuo T, Dunet D, Schmidt SM, Simon PA, Fielding JE. “Estimating the potential health impact and costs of implementing a local policy for food procurement to reduce the consumption of sodium in the County of Los Angeles,” Am J Public Health 2011; doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300138 [Gase et al. 2011b].

Gaziano TA, Bitton A, Anand S, Weinstein MC, International Society of Hypertension. “The global cost of nonoptimal blood pressure,” J Hypertens 2009; 27:1472-1477.

Gifford-Jones W. “Can’t see the salt for the trees: consumers’ taste buds go against a company’s best intentions,” Toronto Star, July 23, 2011.

Girgis S, Neal B, Prescott J, Prendergast J, Dumbrell S, Turner C, Woodward M. “A one-quarter reduction in the salt content of bread can be made without detection,” Eur J Clin Nutr 2003; 57:616-620.

Harris J, Pomeranz J, Lobstein T, Brownell KD. “A Crisis in the Marketplace: How Food Marketing Contributes to Childhood Obesity and What Can Be Done,” Annu Rev Publ Health 2009; 30:211-25.

Hastings G, McDermott L, Angus K, Stead M, Thomson S. The Extent, Nature and Effects of Food Promotion to Children: A Review of the Evidence. World Health Organization 2007. Available online: http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/Hastings_paper_marketing.pdf

He FJ, MacGregor GA. “Importance of salt in determining blood pressure in children: meta-analysis of controlled trials,” Hypertens 2006; 48:861-869.

He FJ, MacGregor GA. “A comprehensive review on salt and health and current experience of worldwide salt reduction programmes,” J Hum Hypertens 2009; 23:363-384.

Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate. Washington (DC): National Academies Press; 2005.

Jeffrey B. Technical brief of Bill Jeffrey, LLB, National Coordinator, Centre for Science in the Public Interest, before the Hearing on Healthy Living of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health, February 3, 2011, Ottawa. Available online at: http://cspinet.org/canada/pdf/english.technicalbrief.pdf

Jeffery B. “The Supreme Court of Canada's Appraisal of the 1980 Ban on Advertising to Children in Quebec: Implications for "Misleading" Advertising Elsewhere,” Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review 2006; 39(237).

Joffres MR, Campbell NRC, Manns B, Tu K. “Estimate of the benefits of a population-based reduction in dietary sodium additives on hypertension and its related health care costs in Canada,” Can J Cardiol 2007; 23:437-443.

Laatikainen T, Pietinen P, Valsta L, Sundvall J, Reinivuo H, Tuomilehto J. “Sodium in the Finnish diet: 20 year trends in urinary sodium excretion among the adult population,” Eur J Clin Nutr 2006; 60:965-70.

Lopez AD, Mathers CD, Ezzati M, Jamison DT, Murray CJL. “Global and regional burden of disease and risk factors, 2001: systematic analysis of population health data,” Lancet 2006; 367(9524):17471757.

MacGregor GA, Sever PS. “Salt – overwhelming evidence but still no action: can a consensus be reached with the food industry?” BMJ 1996; 312:1287-1289.

Mattes RD, Donnelly D. “Relative contributions of dietary sodium sources,” J Am Coll Nutr 1991; 10:383-393.

McLaren L, McIntyre L, Kirkpatrick S. “Rose’s population strategy of prevention need not increase social inequalities in health,” Int J Epidemiol 2010; 39:372-377.

Mohan S, Campbell NRC. “Salt and high blood pressure,” Clin Sci 2009; 117:1-11.

Mohan S, Campbell NRC, Willis K. “Effective population-wide public health interventions to promote sodium reduction,” CMAJ 2009; 181:605-609.

Nitzke S, Freeland-Graves J, American Dietetic Association. “Position of the American Dietetic Association: total diet approach to communicating food and nutrition information,” J Am Diet Assoc 2007; 107:1224-1232.

Penney S. Dropping the Salt: practical steps countries are taking to prevent chronic non-communicable diseases through population-wide dietary salt reduction. Prepared for the Public Health Agency of Canada, 2009.

Penney S. Dropping the Salt 2: A database of global activities and plans to prevent chronic noncommunicable diseases through population-wide dietary salt reduction. Prepared for the Public Health Agency of Canada, 2011.

Pietinen P, Mannisto S, Valsta LM, Sarlio-Lahteenkorva S.” Nutrition policy in Finland,” Public Health Nutr 2010; 13:901-906.

Power EM. “Determinants of healthy eating among low-income Canadians, ” Can J Public Health 2005; 96(Suppl 3):S37-42.

Puska P. “The North Karelia Project: from community intervention to national activity in lowering cholesterol levels and CHD risk,” Eur Heart J 1999; 1(Suppl):S9-13.

Ransome K. “Assessment of dietary intake in accordance with recommendations to reduce the risk of cancer among adult Alberta residents,” M.Sc. thesis, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, 2001.

Raulio S, Roos E, Prattala R. “School and workplace meals promote healthy food habits,” Public Health Nutr 2010; 13:987-992.

Ricciuto L, Lin K, Tarasuk V. “A comparison of the fat composition and prices of margarines between 2002 and 2006, when new Canadian labeling regulations came into effect,” Public Health Nutr 2008; 12:1270-1275.

Riciutto LE, Tarasuk V. “An examination of income-related disparities in the nutritional quality of food selections among Canadian households from 1986-2001,” Soc Sci Med 2007; 64:186-198.

Rose G. The strategy of preventive medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992. [Reprinted. Rose’s strategy of preventive medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.]

Schmidt S. “Feds refused proposed plan to cut sodium,” Calgary Herald, December 12, 2011.

Smith-Spangler CM, Juusola JL, Enns EA, Owens DK, Garber AM. “Population strategies to decrease sodium intake and the burden of cardiovascular disease: a cost-effectiveness analysis,” Ann Intern Med 2010; 152:481-487.

Sodium Working Group (SWG). Sodium reduction strategy for Canada – recommendations of the Sodium Working Group, 2010. Report available online at: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fnan/nutrition/sodium/strateg/index-eng.php

Stolarz-Skrzypek K, Kuznetsova T, Lutgarde T, Tikhonoff V, Seidlerova J, Richart T. et al. “Fatal and nonfatal outcomes, incidence of hypertension, and blood pressure changes in relation to urinary sodium excretion,” JAMA 2011; 305:1777-1785.

Strazzullo P, D’Elia L, Kandala N-B, Cappuccio FP. “Salt intake, stroke, and cardiovascular disease: meta-analysis of prospective studies,” BMJ 2009; 339:b4567.

Tanase CM, Griffin P, Koski KG. “Sodium and potassium in composite food samples from the Canadian Total Diet Study,” J Food Composition Analysis 2011; 24:237-243.

Tarasuk V, Fitzpatrick S, Ward H. “Nutrition inequities in Canada,” Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2010; 35:172-179.

Taylor RS, Ashton KE, Moxham T, Hooper L, Ebrahim S. “Reduced dietary salt for the prevention of cardiovascular disease: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (Cochrane review),” Am J Hypertens 2011; 24:843-853.

Truscott A. “Checking up on Health Check,” CMAJ 2008; 178:386-387.

Vasan RS, Beiser A, Seshadri S, Larson MG, Kannel WB, D’Agostino RB, Levy D. “Residual lifetime risk for developing hypertension in middle-aged women and men: The Framingham Heart Study,” JAMA 2002; 287:1003-1010.

Vatanparast H, Dolega-Cieszkowski JH, Whiting SJ. “Many adult Canadians are not meeting current calcium recommendations from food and supplement intake,” Appl Physiol Nutr Metab 2009; 34:191196.

Wang G, Labarthe D. “The cost-effectiveness of interventions designed to reduce sodium intake,” J Hypertens 2011; 29:1693-1699.

Webster JL, Dunford EK, Hawkes C, Neal BC. “Salt reduction initiatives around the world,” J Hypertens 2011; 29:1043-1050.

Weeks C. “Campbell’s adding salt back to its soups,” The Globe and Mail, July 14, 2011.

Wilson K. “The complexities of multi-level governance in public health,” Can J Public Health 2004; 95:409-412.

World Health Organization (WHO). Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases: report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation. Geneva: WHO; 2003.

World Health Organization (WHO 2007) Reducing salt intake in populations: Report of a WHO forum and technical meeting, Paris 2006. p 3. www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/Salt_Report_VC_april07.pdf.

World Health Organization (WHO 2008). Salt as a vehicle for fortification. Report of a WHO Expert Consultation, Luxembourg, 21‐22 March 2007. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2008/9789241596787_eng.pdf.

World Health Organization (WHO 2010a). Creating an enabling environment for population-based salt reduction strategies: report of a joint technical meeting held by WHO and the Food Standards Agency, United Kingdom, July 2010. Geneva: WHO Press, 2010.

World Health Organization (WHO 2010b). Sodium: Surveillance, Monitoring, and Evaluation. Strategies to monitor and evaluate population sodium consumption and sources of dietary sodium, and relevant knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. Proceedings of a technical meeting jointly convened by WHO and the Government of Canada. Calgary, October 2010.

Téléchargements

Publié-e

2012-06-19

Numéro

Rubrique

Research Papers