A recent health study has delivered a shocking comparison for the nation's diet, revealing that the average working-age adult in England consumes enough salt each week to equal a staggering 155 packets of crisps.
The Salty Truth: How Our Intake Stacks Up
Research from the British Heart Foundation (BHF), published in January 2026, shows adults are eating an average of 58.8 grams of salt weekly. This is a serious 40% over the UK's recommended maximum limit of 42 grams per week. To visualise the daily impact, this is akin to eating 22 packs of ready salted crisps every single day.
The situation appears even more dire when measured against stricter global guidelines. If compared to the World Health Organisation's advised limit of less than 5 grams daily (35g weekly), the average British consumption is excessively high.
Where Is All This Salt Hiding?
A key issue identified by the BHF and a supporting YouGov poll is public confusion: 56% of Brits lack confidence in estimating their daily salt consumption. Dietitian Dell Stanford explains this is because "most of the salt we eat is hidden in the food we buy."
Everyday supermarket staples are significant, and often surprising, contributors:
- Bread: A 2023 report by Action on Salt found 75% of supermarket sliced bread contained at least as much salt per slice as a bag of ready salted crisps. Furthermore, 11% of products breached the maximum salt reduction target for bread.
- Breakfast Cereals: The same group analysed 334 cereals, including popular brands like Special K, Cheerios, and Shreddies. They discovered 35% had more salt per serving than a bag of ready salted crisps.
- Ready Meals: This category performed worst. Under government labelling criteria, 56% of ready meals were classified as high in salt. Research up to May 2025 flagged all meals from Wasabi, Jamie Oliver, and Kitchen Joy as high in salt, along with 91% from Charlie Bigham’s and 89% from Royal and Saputo Dairy UK.
Why Excessive Salt Is a Serious Health Threat
With 32% of Brits unaware of the recommended maximum intake, understanding the risks is crucial. The BHF warns that high salt consumption leads to increased blood pressure (hypertension). This forces the heart to work harder and puts extra strain on blood vessels, raising the risk of heart attacks and strokes—conditions linked to half of all such events in the UK.
Hypertension is typically defined as a reading over 140/90 mmHg at a clinic, or 135/85 mmHg at home, according to NHS guidelines. It is a silent epidemic, affecting 30% of UK adults, with an estimated five million people unaware they have it.
The long-term consequences are severe, including heart disease, heart failure, kidney disease, and vascular dementia. The BHF estimates that reducing the UK's average salt intake to the WHO target by 2030 could prevent up to 135,000 new cases of coronary heart disease over 14 years.
Calls for Government and Industry Action
Following these findings, the BHF is urging the government to incorporate mandatory salt reduction targets into its upcoming Healthy Food Standard—a policy initiative aimed at tackling obesity.
Dietitian Dell Stanford supports this call, stating: “The Government must step in to make the healthy choice much easier for families by giving manufacturers an incentive to take out excessive amounts of salt from our food.” The charity believes regulatory action is essential to compel the food industry to reformulate everyday products and protect the nation's cardiovascular health.
