40 million deaths, while also helping to lower high blood pressure, a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Finally, eliminating artificial trans fat would postpone another 14.8 million deaths.
Researchers calculated their figures by analyzing global data from multiple studies, as well as data from the World Health Organization. Sub-Saharan Africa would have the largest proportion of overall delayed deaths, while South Asia would see the greatest impact from eliminating trans fat.
Danaei said scaling up control of high blood pressure might be the easiest goal to achieve because lifestyle changes are now targeted by many health programs and medications used in treatment are safe and often affordable. Efforts to reduce salt and eliminate trans fat may require national legislation or changes by the regional or national ministry of health.
“We are trying to elicit interest and raise resources for countries worldwide to achieve these goals,” said Danaei, an associate professor of global health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston. “These are realistic goals that have been shown to be attainable on smaller scales. We need the commitment to scale up the programs to achieve them globally.”
Danaei and another researcher in the study are paid consultants for Resolve To Save Lives, a global health initiative that
