Salty Snacks Can Hike Up Blood Pressure in Kids
Salty Snacks Can Hike Up Blood Pressure in Kids – A new study conducted on middle school kids in Italy shows that a high consumption of salty snacks increased blood pressure.
For the study, researchers gave questionnaires to 1,200 middle school kids aged 11 to 13 years in Torino, Italy, that asked them about their sodium and salty snack consumption. For the study, any snack that contained over 0.3 gm of sodium per portion was considered to be salty, and included foods like pizzas, crackers, potato chips, cheese and deli meats. The average blood pressure was the average range for kids as determined by the US National Institutes of Health. Researchers took the children’s height and weight into account when determining their blood pressure.
The recommended daily allowance of sodium for kids is less than 2,300 milligrams per day. Researchers found that the children consumed an average of 1.4 gm per day from snacks alone, while the overall sodium intake was 3.4 gm and that the kids’ blood pressure increased as their intake of salty snacks increased.
The study confirms previous research on the link between high sodium intake and high blood pressure, even in kids. Experts also point out that eating too much salt in childhood can lead to a preference for salty food in adulthood, and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.
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