This article is for health education and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice; please consult a professional doctor if you have any health concerns.

✦ ✦ ✦

Today is September 1 — National Healthy Lifestyle Day. Since it was established in 2007, this day has been observed for nearly 20 years[[7]]. What the country reminds us of year after year comes down to just six words: Three Reductions, Three Healths — reduce salt, reduce oil, reduce sugar; healthy mouth, healthy weight, healthy bones[[7]]. But first, let's look at a set of data: how far are we from the "Three Healths"?

✦ ✦ ✦

Half of Adults Are Overweight or Obese, and One in Four Has High Blood Pressure

The Report on the Nutrition and Chronic Disease Status of Chinese Residents (2020) shows: among residents aged 18 and above, the overweight rate is 34.3% and the obesity rate is 16.4%, a combined 50.7% — more than half of adults are overweight or obese[[1]]; the prevalence of hypertension is 27.5%, meaning one in every four adults has high blood pressure[[1]].

Now look at what goes into our mouths every day: the average person uses 9.3 grams of cooking salt per day, nearly double the recommended amount of 5 grams (the World Health Organization and dietary guidelines both consistently recommend salt intake below 5 grams per day); cooking oil use is 43.2 grams, more than 40% above the recommended upper limit of 30 grams[[1]][[2]][[4]]. And these are just averages — many families add even more salt and oil when cooking.

✦ ✦ ✦

Reduction One: Start with Salt — Both Blood Pressure and Weight Benefit

The relationship between salt and blood pressure is very direct. A Cochrane systematic review pooled 34 randomized trials involving 3,230 people: reducing salt by about 4.4 grams per day lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 4.18 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 2.06 mmHg[[5]]. When blood pressure is stable, the burden on the cardiovascular system is lighter.

How to reduce: ① Add salt just before taking the dish off the heat — same salty taste, less salt used; ② When buying packaged foods, check the "sodium" on the ingredient list first; ③ Watch out for the big hidden sources of salt — pickled vegetables, cured meat, instant noodles, and dried noodles may not taste salty, but they contain plenty of sodium.

Reduction Two: Then Reduce Oil — Save Several Pounds a Year

The average person uses 43.2 grams of oil per day, more than 40% above the recommended amount (25-30 grams)[[1]][[2]]. Too much oil doesn't just mean high calories — it also tends to quietly raise blood lipids. The oil used in cooking alone brings about 390 kcal a day, equivalent to eating two extra bowls of rice. How to reduce: use steaming, boiling, blanching, and tossing more often; use an oil-control dispenser when cooking; limit takeout fried food to no more than once a week.

Reduction Three: Finally, Reduce Sugar — Start with Sugary Drinks

The World Health Organization recommends keeping free sugar intake below 10% of total energy (about 50 grams), and keeping it under 25 grams is even better[[3]]. Sugar-sweetened beverages are one of the biggest sources — a meta-analysis of 32 studies showed that for each additional serving of sugar-sweetened beverages per day, adults gained about 0.22 kg more weight per year[[6]]. How to reduce: replace your first drink of the day with plain water or light tea; choose sugar-free milk tea; buy fewer products where sugar ranks in the top three on the ingredient list.

✦ ✦ ✦

Three Healths at a Glance: Mouth, Weight, Bones — One Rule for Each

The Three Healths may look like three separate directions, but they really rest on the same thing: your body's foundation, built up little by little through daily habits.

✦ ✦ ✦

Action suggestions: Do just three small things today — ① switch to a smaller salt spoon and add one less spoonful of salt; ② replace your first sugary drink of the day with plain water; ③ weigh yourself tonight and write it down. The Three Reductions and Three Healths aren't about eating less — they're about eating right.

If this was helpful to you, give it a like or a "reading" and feel free to leave a comment telling us what topics you'd like to see. Share it with the person who does the cooking at home, save this checklist, and use it together as a family.

✦ ✦ ✦

Disclaimer: The content of this article is compiled based on publicly available academic literature and authoritative institutional materials. It is for health education reference only and does not constitute medical advice; please consult a professional doctor for your individual situation.

Conflict of interest statement: The author has no conflicts of interest with the studies mentioned in this article.

© 2026 Sun Holy Health (Beijing) Medical Technology Co., Ltd.

References