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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Are American Kids Eating Too Much Salt? While heart disease and high blood pressure are more associated with middle age and older adults, it seems that these diseases are hitting American children and teens more often now. This is probably because most American kids are consuming too much salt in their food: about one third more than what is recommended. Previous studies have clearly shown that eating plenty of salt could raise blood pressure, though not in every single person, it could affect a significant percentage of the population. Findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that more than 90 percent of kids are eating far too much salt, which is not coming from the saltshaker. An estimated 3,279 milligrams of sodium was consumed daily by the American school-aged children, as stipulated in their report on September 9, 2014. The amount of sodium is certainly much higher than the CDC’s recommendation for children: not more than 2,300 milligrams a day. Using data drawn from 2,200 children who participated in the CDC's 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, CDC figured out how much salt they were getting and where. Their analysis showed that the salt did not come from salty snacks but came mostly from what they ate for dinner. About 43 percent of sodium consumed by children came from the 10 foods they ate most often: pizza, bread and rolls, cold cuts/cured meats, savory snacks, sandwiches, cheese, chicken patties/nuggets/tenders, pasta mixed dishes, Mexican mixed dishes, and soups. Most sodium is already in food before it is purchased or ordered. In fact, most sodium came from processed and restaurant food. 65 percent of salt came from store-bought foods, 13 percent from fast food and pizza restaurants and 9 percent from school cafeterias.
One in six American children was found to have borderline or high blood pressure, and a third of the entire American population has high blood pressure. High blood pressure is just another risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. Studies have found that if Americans collectively reduce the amount of sodium consumed by 40 percent, between 280,000 and 500,000 lives could be saved over 10 years. As such, cutting sodium intake would definitely help the children avoid tragic and expensive health problems. One way parents can help their kids is to read the nutrition labels in the supermarket and ask for nutrition information at restaurants. The amount of sodium consumed each day can be reduced by paying attention to nutrition labels. Families could also serve more fresh fruits and vegetables, and prepare foods using less salt. Meanwhile, the Federal officials have already urged the food industry to help lower salt levels in food. Fast food chain Taco Bell has committed to cut salt by 20 percent in its products, and food manufacturing giant ConAgra indicates that it has cut sodium in its products by 20 percent. The new national nutrition standards for school cafeterias should also help since they are expected to lower the salt in school meals by 25 percent to 50 percent by 2022. By then, the salt intake among school-aged kids could drop 220 milligrams to 420 milligrams on days they eat cafeteria meals. In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has taken the lead by lowering the salt in foods they provides directly to schools. They offer a variety of no-salt-added, lower-sodium options to help schools prepare healthier meals. Two-thirds of the products offered through the USDA Foods now to schools have no salt added in their formulations. Schools and school districts can also implement food purchasing policies and standards that reduce sodium in foods and put lower-sodium alternatives in vending machines, school stores and cafeterias, as indicated in the CDC’s report.
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