A study published in September 2007 reveals a link between a salty diet and high blood pressure. Researchers from the University of London analysed salt intake and blood pressures figures from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

The results confirmed that many children are consuming far too much salt. The average four year old eats 4.7 g of salt a day, mainly in processed food. Official advice is for four to six year olds to limit their salt intake to 3g a day. High blood pressure can lead to strokes and damage to the heart, brain, kidneys and eyes. The message once again for parents is to check labels and look for sodium (salt) content, especially on foods, such as breakfast cereals and snacks.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 1st, 2007 at 4:30 am and is filed under Children's Health, In the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.