Cutting Salt, Improving Health

Statement of Commitment by Health Organizations and Public Agencies

High blood pressure – a common result of excessive salt intake – causes cardiovascular disease, the nation’s leading cause of premature death. Lowering blood pressure saves lives, and reducing salt intake lowers blood pressure.

Reducing the amount of salt people consume requires action by individuals, governments and the private sector. Individuals can monitor and reduce their own intake. However, even highly motivated individuals find it difficult to adequately reduce their salt intake in the presence of the amounts added in manufacturing and preparation. Health organizations, including government agencies, can provide leadership and guidance and can raise awareness of the health benefits of lowering salt intake. The private sector can reduce the amount of salt in processed and restaurant foods – the main sources of salt in our diet – by reformulating its products.

Reducing salt intake has been a public health priority for decades. The FDA’s 1982 Dietary Sodium Initiative called on the food industry to voluntarily reduce sodium levels in processed foods, yet sodium intake has continued to rise. By the year 2000, men were consuming 48% more salt than they did in the early 1970s, and women were consuming 69% more. Gradual, but substantive, measurable reductions in the salt content of processed and restaurant foods must be achieved to improve public health and reduce the population risk of cardiovascular disease.

The undersigned agencies and organizations are committed to work toward the goal of reducing population salt intake by at least 20% during the next five years by setting targets and monitoring progress through a transparent, public process.

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Alaska Department of Health and Social Services

American College of Cardiology

American College of Epidemiology

American Heart Association

American Medical Association

American Public Health Association

American Society of Hypertension

Arizona Department of Health Services

Association of Black Cardiologists

Association of State and Territorial Health Officials

Baltimore City Health Department

Boston Public Health Commission

California Department of Public Health

Chicago Department of Public Health

Consumers Union

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists

Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health

District of Columbia Department of Health

InterAmerican Heart Foundation

International Society of Hypertension in Blacks

Joint Policy Committee, Societies of Epidemiology

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Michigan Department of Community Health

National Association of Chronic Disease Directors

National Association of County and City Health Officials

National Hispanic Medical Association

National Kidney Foundation

New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene

New York State Chapter, American College of Cardiology

New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets

New York State Department of Health

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health

Oregon Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health

Pennsylvania Department of Health

Philadelphia Department of Public Health

Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association

Public Health, Seattle and King County

Society for the Analysis of African-American Public Health Issues

Tennessee Department of Health

Washington State Department of Health

West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Public Health

World Hypertension League

*Signatories as of February 3, 2010; more organizations may sign on in the coming months