Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

AMA wants labels to warn that excess salt is unsafe

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 14, 2006

CHICAGO - The nation's largest doctors group is pushing for new warning labels. Only these labels aren't for drugs - they're for food.

The American Medical Association voted Tuesday to urge the government to require high-salt foods to be labeled and also vowed to push the food industry to drastically cut the amount of salt in restaurant and processed foods. The goal would be 50 percent less salt within a decade.

Americans eat almost twice the amount of salt they should, and that contributes to high blood pressure and heart problems, the AMA says.

Labels with pictures of salt shakers bearing the word "high" and red exclamation marks might help consumers think twice about eating high-sodium foods, said an AMA council report that led to the policy.

Foods considered high in salt are those with more than 480 milligrams of sodium per serving, according to the AMA report. That includes hot dogs, some canned soups, a slice of packaged pepperoni pizza, an order of chicken chow mein and a cheeseburger, according to a food chart accompanying the council report.

On a voice vote, AMA delegates adopted the policy at their five-day annual meeting, which ends today.

The measure also calls for the AMA to ask the Food and Drug Administration to revoke salt's status as a food that is "generally recognized as safe," known as "GRAS" in the industry. GRAS food includes such staples as sugar and pepper.

The American Heart Association recommends limiting sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams daily, or less than about one teaspoon, but the average daily consumption among American adults is nearly double that amount, the report said.

The AMA report said there is overwhelming evidence that eating an excessive amount of salt is a risk factor for high blood pressure and may be an independent risk factor for other cardiovascular problems.

"Ultimately, substantial cooperation among the government, the food industry, physicians and the nutrition community will be required to accomplish meaningful change," the report said.

The Food Products Association, a trade group for the food and beverage manufacturing industry, said the new policy is misguided.

"Why single out salt?" said Robert Earl, the group's nutrition policy director. "A direct link between salt and negative cardiovascular outcomes is not as clear as some portray it to be."

The AMA has considerable clout in Washington and an FDA spokesman said the stance on salt could lead the agency to consider holding hearings.

Study: Prozac doesn't help women fight anorexia

CHICAGO - Prozac is one of the antidepressants often used to treat anorexia, but researchers found it didn't stop young women from resuming their self-starving ways.

In a small study, more than half of the women who got Prozac or dummy pills dropped out of the experiment, and few who remained in it kept their weight from dropping into the danger zone. The results underscore the difficulty in curing the eating disorder.

Taken with other findings, the results indicate that prescribing antidepressants "is unlikely to provide substantial benefit for most patients with anorexia," the researchers wrote. The report is in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

[Last modified June 14, 2006, 07:39:32]