Study Compares Strategies to Decrease Dietary Sodium Intake
A recent study has apparently concluded that industry efforts to reduce mean sodium intake by 9.5 percent could avert “513,885 strokes and 480,358 MIs [myocardial infarctions] over the lifetime of adults aged 40 to 85 years who are alive today compared with the status quo, increasing QALYs [quality-adjusted life-years] by 2.1 million and saving $32.1 billion in medical costs.” Crystal Smith-Spangler, et al., “Population Strategies to Decrease Sodium Intake and the Burden of Cardiovascular Disease: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis,” Annals of Internal Medicine, March 1, 2010. By comparison, a sodium tax of 40 percent would achieve only a 6 percent reduction in salt intake, averting 327,892 strokes and 306,173 MIs, increasing QALYs by 1.3 million and saving $22.4 billion over the same period.
Researchers specifically assessed the cost-effectiveness of two population strategies to reduce sodium intake: “government collaboration with food manufacturers to voluntarily cut sodium in processed foods, modeled on the United Kingdom experience, and a sodium tax.” They concluded that “[c]ollaboration with industry to establish voluntary sodium targets in processed foods is likely to be more effective than a sodium tax and seems to be an appropriate first step toward reducing population sodium intake and the burden of CVD [cardiovascular disease].”
Meanwhile, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Thomas Frieden, co-authored an editorial that praises the study for providing “compelling evidence that a policy-driven approach can reduce sodium intake, save money, and save lives.” Concurring that “sodium reduction will rely on action by the food industry,” the editorial highlights the U.S. National Salt Reduction Initiative’s voluntary targets for restaurant and packaged foods, as well as strategies that include “product development and reformulation by food manufacturers, public health and health education interventions, and regulatory or legislative options.” It notes, however, that “the very low unit cost of salt and the complexity of taxing a component of multiple products make it likely that taxation would not be either sufficiently high, or practically implementable, or both.” See Bloomberg.com and Reuters, March 2, 2010.
