# World Salt Awareness Week: A call to action for reducing salt intake in Malaysia

## TL;DR

This paper highlights the need to reduce salt intake in Malaysia to combat hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, which remain major health threats.

## Contribution

The paper reviews current salt reduction challenges in Malaysia and proposes strategies to improve progress toward global health targets.

## Key findings

- 79% of Malaysians consume an average of 7.9 g of salt per day, exceeding WHO recommendations.
- Efforts like food reformulation and public education face challenges due to industry reluctance and low consumer awareness.

## Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases remain a primary contributor to death worldwide, with hypertension being a key determinant. Excessive salt intake is a contributing factor of high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases. To address this, the World Health Organization recommends keeping daily salt consumption under 5 g and aiming for a 30% decrease by 2025. In Malaysia, efforts to reach this target have faced delays. A local study found that 79% of Malaysians consume an average of 7.9 g of salt per day, which is significantly higher than the WHO’s recommendations. Despite efforts such as voluntary food reformulation, mandatory sodium labelling and public education campaigns, challenges remain. Industry reluctance, low consumer awareness and inadequate enforcement slow down such efforts. This commentary reviews these issues and suggests applicable approaches to strengthen Malaysia’s salt reduction strategies.