Science Symposium on ReThink Sodium: Science, Behavior, Guidance and Solutions for Public Health

Excessive dietary sodium intake is considered a major contributor to hypertension and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), posing a significant public health challenge worldwide. Despite global recommendations and intervention measures to reduce sodium consumption, many populations, including those in Southeast Asia, continue to exceed advised intake levels. It is therefore essential to have a better understanding of the main contributors to sodium intake in communities within the region, as well as to review the approaches and strategies undertaken. Addressing this issue requires coordinated efforts across scientific, policy, industry, and consumer domains to ensure effective and sustainable sodium reduction strategies.

This one-day symposium brings together scientific experts, public health authorities, industry representatives, and other stakeholders to jointly re-think this long-standing issue of sodium and health. With the prevailing high rates of NCDs in the region, there is an urgent need to better understand sodium consumption patterns to identify the main sources of sodium in the diet. This would include understanding the long-held culinary practices and the increased consumption of meals away from home, as well as the role of processed foods. Additionally, it is important to strengthen the tools used to measure sodium intake from various sources, particularly through emerging and more accurate population-level assessment methods. These measures will provide the fundamentals needed to align approaches and strategies with key players in the food environment – food service and food processing industries – with available science to work towards more optimal sodium intake of the population.