How can Australians best protect our children against the harmful effects of
eating too much salt?
AWASH recently organised a debate, chaired by Dr Norman Swan, about protecting children against the harmful effects of salt.
Dame Deirdre Hutton, Chair of the UK Food Standards Agency outlined the UK Government's strategy. Dr Bruce Neal, Chairman of AWASH highlighted the current situation in Australia. There was then a series of presentations from senior food industry representatives, setting the scene for the debate that followed.
Salt and Children's Health Debate Report - AWASH puts salt on the agenda not on the table [PDF 1.52MB]
Lower salt, better health
Eating salt can raise your blood pressure, which increases your risk of strokes and heart attacks at any age.
AWASH aims to reduce the amount of salt being consumed by Australians.
How much salt are we eating?
Australian adults eat an average of 9 grams of salt each day - much more salt than the 1 gram or so that we need, and far more than is healthy.
AWASH is aiming to reduce salt consumption by Australians to an average of 6 grams each day.