Less Salt, Less Soda Pop
February 26, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Cutting some salt out of your children’s diets may help them cut back on calorie-laden soft drinks.
A new report from England finds kids who eat less salt drink
fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks. This could significantly lower their risks
for obesity and high blood pressure, as well as heart attacks and strokes as
they get older.
“Sugar-sweetened soft drinks are a significant source of calorie intake in
children,” lead author Feng J. He, M.D., a bariatric surgeon at St. George’s
University of London, England, was quoted as saying. “It has been shown that
sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption is related to obesity in young people.
However, it is unclear whether there is a link between salt intake and
sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption.”
Researchers analyzed data of more than 2,000 boys and girls between the ages of four and 18. They found those who consumed a lower-salt diet drank less fluid. Researchers estimate cutting one gram of salt a day would reduce fluid intake by 100 grams a day.
Results also show children who ate a lower-salt diet drank fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks. Researchers say if children aged four to 18 cut their salt intake by half -- an average reduction of three grams a day -- each child could eliminate two sugar-sweetened soft drinks, or 250 calories, a week. This could help lower blood pressure in children and help reduce obesity. And it could help reduce the risk of stroke or heart attack later in life.
Researchers recommend parents check labels, choose low-salt foods, and not add salt during cooking or at meals.
SOURCE: Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, 2008;51:629-634
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