Yellowknife, N.W.T. – Provincial, territorial and federal health ministers have set targets to get Canadians salt consumption down but the NWT might have a bigger challenge making that happen then some other jurisdictions. 

The average Canadian consumes 35 hundred milligrams of salt a day, while data gathered in the Beaufort Delta shows the number is much higher in the NWT, with the average consumption sitting at 44 hundred milligrams a day.

That's almost three times the recommended amount.

Chief public health officer Andre Corriveau said salt consumption contributes to our health care system becoming unsustainable and costing more every year.

“Sodium is really quite high on the list of things that are causing preventable diseases in our population,” he said.

He noted the countries around the world that have had the sharpest reductions are the ones where there are regulations on and monitoring of food production.

“Canada right now is one of the countries where sodium intake is the highest in the world and we have a long way to go,” he said. “We can see in a couple of years if the voluntary guidelines are sufficient.”

Corriveau also suggested simplifying food labelling, changing menus in public facilities and encouraging more traditional diets are other options for reducing salt intake. 

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