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 causes 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
Association of Black Cardiologists
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
California Department of Public Health
Chicago Department of Public Health
Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health
District of Columbia Department of Health
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 April 22, 2009; more organizations may sign on in the coming months
