1 in 3 Malaysian adults have high blood pressure

One in three or about 32.7 per cent of Malaysians aged 18 years and above are now believed to have high blood pressure said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said this was found during a study on the intake of salt among Malaysians through urine analysis over 24 hours, last year.

"The average consumption of salt by Malaysians is 8.7 grammes daily which is 1.7 times higher than the World Health Organisation's recommendation of 5 grammes a day.

"In the same study, it was found soy sauce is the main source of food which contributes to the high salt content and men consumed far more salt than women," he said in a message in conjunction with 2013 World Salt Awareness Week.

Therefore, he urged members of the public to take steps in reducing salt intake by having routine health screening.

The 6th World Salt Awareness Week campaign held from March 11 to 17 focused on the food industry, caterers, food handlers and chefs at restaurants with the theme 'Less Salt Please'.

Liow said the ministry was formulating a strategy to reduce salt intake in Malaysia.

"Among the salt controlling measures taken was on a list of 16 food items with high salt content including biscuits, soy sauce, instant noodles, snacks and frozen meat which have been reduced of their salt content by 2 to 40 per cent from the original level in 2011 to 2012," he said.