March
25, 2005
Mr.
Markos Kyprianou
Commissioner
European Union
and
Coordinator for EU Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health
Dear
Mr. Kyprianou:
I
read with interest the 15 March announcement of the Eu Platform and write to alert you to
a factual error in the problem statement. As
written, section 1 begins: "European
Union citizen are moving too little and consuming too much:
too much energy, too many calories, too much fat and sugar and salt. The main consequence is a sustained, acute EU-wide
increase in overweight and obesity."
While
experts disagree on whether Europeans consume "too much" salt, I think there is
consensus that salt is not responsible for the increase in European overweight and
obesity. Not only is salt non-caloric, but
salt consumption has been unchanged over the past century (or longer), so it can hardly be
associated with the relatively recent rise in obesity.
In fact, research published more than 20 years ago in Science
magazine about the U.S. population shows an association of body leanness and salt
consumption -- the more salt in the diet, the less overweight and obesity.
If
you have research to the contrary, I would be pleased to reconsider. If you do not, I ask that you reconsider the
statement that salt is in any way associated with an increase in overweight and obesity.
We
strongly favor improving the quality of diets as an essential element of improving public
health. While we would remind you that the
preponderance of evidence on the health outcomes of salt reduction does not favor such an
intervention (please see the references at http://www.saltinstitute.org/healthrisk.html),
and we may have to agree to disagree on the matter of salt reduction generally, there can
be no reason to misstate the science regarding the relationship between salt and body
mass. Salt is not responsible for Europeans'
overweight and obesity. Please remove
"salt" from the list of nutrients for which the "main consequence is a
sustained ... increase in overweight and obesity."
Sincerely,
Richard L. Hanneman
President, Salt Institute
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