School Children Need to Drop the Salt, Report Finds

More than 90 percent of children ages 6 to 18 eat more sodium than recommended, putting them at risk for potential health complications later on in life, a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found.

Children eat an average of about 3,300 mg of sodium a day before salt is added to a meal, which is 1,000 mg more than the daily recommended sodium intake of 2,300 mg, according to a CDC Vital Signs report released Sept. 9.

“Too many children are consuming way too much sodium, and the result will be risks of high blood pressure and heart disease in the future,” Tom Frieden, CDC director, said.

More than 40 percent of sodium that children consume comes from popular snacks like pizza, bread, cold cuts, pastas, soups, cheese and chicken nuggets, according to research from the CDC’s 2009 to 2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

“Most sodium is from processed and restaurant food, not the salt shaker,” Frieden said.

About 65 percent of sodium comes from store foods, 13 percent from fast food and pizza restaurant foods, and 9 percent from school cafeteria foods, the CDC reports.

“This report demonstrates the importance of continuing to move forward in our efforts to improve nutrition in schools, and to ensure that children and teens nationwide have access to safe, nutritious meals and snacks during the school day,” said Kevin Concannon, Under Secretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.

The CDC offered tips on how to make low-sodium choices when at school, the grocery store or restaurants:

• While grocery shopping, read nutrition labels, buy naturally low-sodium foods like fruits and vegetables, and ask the local grocer to stock low-sodium choices.
• At school, offer low-sodium and healthy alternatives in vending machines, school stores and cafeterias.
• Before ordering at restaurants, ask for nutrition facts or request that no salt be added to the meal.