Parents have long been warned of risks of eating too much sugar and too oily in children. But to prevent the risk of overweight and childhood obesity, they should also monitor their children’s salt intake. According to Australian researchers, a child who eats less salt would be less attracted to sugary drinks. Good to know when you know that a child who drinks more than one sweet drink per day increases his risk of being overweight or obese by 26%.
The study published in the journal Pediatrics, shows that salt intake is closely related to sugar intake in some children. “In addition to the effects on lowering blood pressure, reducing salt intake is a useful strategy in childhood obesity prevention efforts,” the study explains.
Researchers at Deakin University followed more than 4,200 young Australians between the ages of two and sixteen. They found that the children who ate the saltiest were those who drank the most sugary drinks: those most addicted to sugary drinks (sodas, juices, energy drinks) consumed 6.5 grams of salt per day, compared to 5.8 grams. for children drinking water. For every gram of salt consumed per day, children absorbed 17 g of additional sugar.
Tips for limiting salt
The national health nutrition program set up in France recommends that an adult not limit the 6g of salt per day. The French are well above with respectively 10 g of salt for menand 8g for women. To learn to eat less salt, there are plenty of common sense tips (do not over-salt the cooking water, do not put the salt shaker on the table, limit industrial foods) and others that we think less of (spices, diet salt…).
