![Too much salt on the plate: cardiovascular diseases kill 10,000 people per day in Europe Too much salt on the plate: cardiovascular diseases kill 10,000 people per day in Europe](https://media.lesechos.com/api/v1/images/view/66447dde2a9d1d5a976e538a/1280x720/01101084501926-web-tete.jpg)
This is an alarming report. Cardiovascular diseases are the cause of four out of ten deaths in Europe, or 10,000 deaths per day and 4 million per year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which urges Europeans to eat less salt.
“Implementing targeted policies to reduce salt consumption by 25% could save around 900,000 lives from cardiovascular diseases by 2030,” said Hans Kluge, regional director of WHO Europe cited in a statement. On the Old Continent, one in three adults aged 30 to 79 suffers from hypertension, and it is often because of excessive salt consumption.
Processed food and snacking
Fifty-one of the region’s 53 countries have average daily salt intake above the WHO recommended maximum level of 5 grams (one teaspoon), mainly due to processed foods and snacking. “High salt consumption increases blood pressure, which is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes,” underlines the WHO.
Europe has the highest blood pressure prevalence in the world. Also according to the WHO, men in the region – which extends to Central Asia – have a more than double risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than women. The divide is also geographical: the probability of dying between the ages of 30 and 69 from an illness of this type is almost five times higher in Eastern Europe and Central Asia than in Western Europe.
Source AFP
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