Bengaluru, Sep 22 Minister U T Khader on Tuesday launched the ‘Karnataka State Multisectoral Action Plan for Salt Reduction’ to promote healthy dietary habits among people.
The launch took place at a Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting held here to strengthen coordinated action towards promoting healthier diets, reducing excessive salt consumption and preventing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across the state, officials said.
They said unhealthy diets were an important modifiable risk factor for NCDs, noting that Indians were estimated to consume around 8-11 grams of salt per day, nearly twice the WHO recommendation of less than five grams per person per day.
Reducing population salt intake was therefore an important component of NCD prevention and the promotion of healthier diets, officials said.
According to a statement issued by the health department, the Technical Advisory Group was constituted under the chairpersonship of Dr Bhagavan B C, Vice-Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), to provide technical guidance and support evidence-based action on salt reduction and healthier dietary practices.
The TAG brings together experts and representatives from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, NIMHANS, academic and nutrition institutions, and public health organisations, including the Institute of Public Health (IPH), Resolve to Save Lives and Vision for Social Development, it said.
The Health minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to NCD prevention through healthier diets and reduction of dietary risk factors, and called for a state steering committee involving multiple departments to drive coordinated and sustained action on healthier dietary habits, the department said.
The Karnataka government has already put in place rules and measures to address foods high in fat, sugar and salt (HFSS), providing a foundation for further strengthening healthier food environments, it said.
Officials said the action plan set out measures to contribute to a 30 per cent reduction in population salt intake by 2030, in line with India’s commitment to the global target, while promoting progress towards the WHO recommendation of less than five grams of salt per person per day.
It addresses salt consumption across three key settings — the household level, food consumed outside the home, and processed and packaged foods, they said.
“Priority actions include reducing discretionary salt use, promoting healthier food choices, encouraging salt reduction in processed and packaged foods, strengthening dietary counselling within the health system, and supporting research and evidence on potassium-enriched low-sodium salt (LSS),” the health department said.
The strategy builds on ongoing initiatives in Karnataka, including salt-reduction measures under PM POSHAN, dietary counselling through Gruha Arogya, and dietary risk-factor counselling under National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases, it said.
The development of the action plan involved collaboration among government departments, academic institutions, public health experts, development partners and civil society organisations, with technical support from Resolve to Save Lives and Vision for Social Development, the department added.
(PTI News)
