People in Switzerland consume too much salt, according to a national study commissioned by the Federal Health Office.
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swissinfo.ch and agencies
The study, published on Monday, was carried out as part of the health office’s Salt Strategy 2008-2012, which aims to reduce salt consumption and is being implemented as one aspect of the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Programme 2008-2012.
Lausanne University Hospital asked some 1,500 people about their diets and tested them for hypertension.
The results show that the daily salt intake of the Swiss population is well above the maximum daily level of five grammes per person that is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).
An average of 9.1g of salt per person per day is consumed in Switzerland, with men getting an average of 10.6g per day compared with the 7.8g that women eat daily.
The study also showed that 25.6 per cent of the individuals tested had high blood pressure. Again, men were more frequently affected (32.3 per cent) than women (19.1 per cent).
The Salt Strategy 2008-2012 aims to gradually reduce salt consumption to less than 8g per person per day by 2012. This is because too much salt intake increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
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