Too much sugar, too much salt and too few nutrients, the meals prepared for children are singled out by the American government, according to the results of a study published in the medical journal Pediatrics. Their composition would be harmful to the health of the little ones and would promote the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and hypertension throughout life.
Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed the composition of prepared meals and cereals breakfasts for infants and children.
The study results reveal that the children’s foods studied contained an average of 361 milligrams of salt per serving, while the recommendations are 210 milligrams per serving. And that sugar represented up to 66% of the composition of these foods, while the sugar content of a food is considered high if this percentage exceeds 35%, according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Too much salt and sugar are dangerous for your health
L’excess salt (more than 2g per day according to the WHO) leads to increased risks of cardiovascular illnesses and prematurely kills an estimated 1.65 million people every year worldwide.
As for sugar, it promotes the onset of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Thus, the WHO called in September 2014 to reduce our sugar intake, so that it only constitutes 5% of our daily caloric intake (against 10% previously), to fight against obesity and cavities.
Because today 35% of Americans are clinically obese and Europeans are getting fatter and fatter: 27% of 13-year-olds and 33% of eleven-year-olds are overweight. Obesity would even become the new weight standard in a majority of countries on the old continent, according to a WHO report.
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Too salty food: 70% of children concerned
