WHO: 10,000 Daily Deaths in Europe from Excessive Salt Consumption

WHO: 10,000 Daily Deaths in Europe from Excessive Salt Consumption
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WHO: 10,000 Daily Deaths in Europe from Excessive Salt Consumption

WHO: 10,000 Daily Deaths in Europe from Excessive Salt Consumption

WHO Europe warned in a recent report of lethal levels of salt consumption and uncontrolled high blood pressure.

It said most people in European region consume far too much salt, and more than one in three adults aged 30–79 has hypertension.

The nw WHO/Europe report “Action on salt and hypertension” called for an integrated approach to reduce salt intake and improve detection and control of hypertension to protect people’s health.

The report said cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the predominant cause of disability and premature death in the European Region, causing over 42.5% of all deaths annually, saying it equals to 10, 000 deaths every day.

According to the report, men are almost 2.5 times more likely to die from CVDs than women. There is also a geographic divide – the probability of dying young (30–69 years) from a CVD is nearly five times as high in eastern Europe and central Asia compared to western Europe.

“CVDs and hypertension are largely preventable – and controllable,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.

“Four million, a staggering figure, is the number of deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases every single year – primarily in men, particularly in the eastern part of our WHO region. These are the facts, but this is something we can change. We know what works, but time and time again, we fall short of implementing evidence-based approaches, resulting in unacceptably high levels of avoidable deaths. Implementing targeted policies to reduce salt intake by 25% could save an estimated 900 000 lives from CVDs by 2030.”

Excessive salt consumption is the main driver of hypertension and, subsequently, deaths from heart attacks, strokes and other CVDs. Street food and processed foods are often the main culprits.

The report said that regulating the amount of salt in processed foods has the potential to have a positive impact on people’s health.



Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Latest Tests Show Seine Water Quality Was Substandard When Paris Mayor Took a Dip

 Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Boats carrying members of delegations sail along the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just as the Paris Olympics start.

Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with the weather in the French capital.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a highly publicized dip last week in a bid to ease fears. The Seine will be used for marathon swimming and triathlon.

Daily water quality tests measure levels of fecal bacteria known as E. coli.

Tests by monitoring group Eau de Paris show that at the Bras Marie, E. coli levels were then above the safe limit of 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters determined by European rules on June 17, when the mayor took a dip.

The site reached a value of 985 on the day the mayor swam with Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her, along with swimmers from local swimming clubs.

At two other measuring points further downstream, the results were below the threshold.

The statement by Paris City Hall and the prefecture of the Paris region noted that water quality last week was in line with European rules six days out of seven on the site which is to host the Olympic swimming competitions.

It noted that "the flow of the Seine is highly unstable due to regular rainfall episodes and remains more than twice the usual flow in summer," explaining fluctuating test results.

Swimming in the Seine has been banned for over a century. Since 2015, organizers have invested $1.5 billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river after the Games. The plan included constructing a giant underground water storage basin in central Paris, renovating sewer infrastructure, and upgrading wastewater treatment plants.