Australians are consuming too much salt
A study from the Australian Health Survey has found that the average Australian is consuming 60 per cent more salt than the daily recommended intake.
The average Australian was found to have 6.2 grams of salt a day which is higher than the World Health Organisation’s recommended maximum intake of five grams.
However, researchers at George Institute for Global Health have found that the average intake could be as high as 9.9 grams of salt per day.
The researchers analysed the salt intake of 419 residents of Lithgow using two different methodologies, a 24-hour diet recall questionnaire and a 24-hour urine sample.
The recall method was also used by the Australian Health Survey, and researchers from the George Institute found a similar average intake to the AHS survey of 6.4 grams a day.
The 24-hour urine method allowed researchers to find out that the average intake was actually 9.9 grams per day, once salt lost through sweat was taken into account.
"At a mean intake of 6.2g/day salt would not be a priority for public health because this level of consumption is only marginally above the target set by WHO, and far better than almost every other developed country," the authors wrote.
"At 9.9g/day, however, the picture is entirely different [because it] is double the WHO's target for daily salt intake and suggests a several folds greater disease burden attributable to excess salt consumption in Australia."
High salt intake can be a key cause of cardiovascular disease and a small reduction of salt can have huge health benefits.
Co-author of the study Associate Professor Jacqui Webster expressed that people are failing to notice the excessive amount of salt they are consuming daily.
"Then they are being hit with the hidden salt in some of our most commonly consumed foods – breads, processed meats, soups and sauces and salty snacks," she said.
An Australian Food and Grocery Council spokesman said, “We encourage people to be conscious of their salt level intake according to dietary guidelines, by using the sodium information that is clearly provided in the nutrient information panel, in the Daily Intake Guide and incorporated in the Health Star Rating labelling system."