People recommended not to consume too much salty food

BANGKOK, October 17 (TNA) - Thai people are recommended to reduce their consumption of salty food, following a latest survey showing that Thais consume about twice the maximum of sodium consumption they generally require daily. As a result of the over consumption of salty food, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr. Sopon Mekton said on Tuesday that 21.4 per cent or 11.5 million of Thai people were found to suffer from high blood pressure, 17.5 per cent or 7.6 million from kidney problems, 1.4 per cent or 0.75 million from constricted heart arteries and 1.1 per cent or 0.5 million from cerebrovascular disease. Dr Sopon, therefore, recommended that Thai consumers each takes only five grams of salt at the maximum daily, or about one teaspoon, equivalent to 2,400 milligrams of sodium daily. Professor Dr. Kriang Tangsanga, chief of the Royal College of Physicians of Thailand (RCPT), told journalists that RCPT has, meanwhile, joined forces with the Ministry of Public Health and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth) in launching a campaign to encourage the public to change their eating habit in order to save them from being at risk of the chronic diseases or illnesses and from spending on medical costs for their treatments. (TNA)