September 7 : Too much intake of salt is exposing children as young as four to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke in later life, warn researchers.

In a new study, the diets of 1,658 youngsters aged four to 18 were analysed, and it was found that the study subjects eating a high salt intake had higher blood pressure.

The researchers say that high blood pressure in early life raises a person’s likelihood of developing the same problem when he grows older, which in turn can significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Published in the Journal of Human Hypertension, the study showed that the more salt children ate, the higher their blood pressure became.

Researchers at St George’s University of London found that for each one gram of salt eaten during the day, blood pressure increased. They said that children, aged four to eight, with a salt intake of less than 4.5g a day had a blood pressure of 101mmHg (millimetres of mercury), but those who ate more than 5.5g had an average blood pressure of 103mmHg.

“This is an im-portant finding which confirms that eating more salt increases blood pressure in childhood and also adds extra weight to the current public-health campaign to reduce salt in the diet,” the Scotsman quoted Professor Malcolm Law from the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine as saying.

“The difference in blood pressure between children with higher and lower salt diets may appear small, but making reductions of this order in childhood is likely to translate into lower levels of blood pressure in adult life, with reduced risk of developing heart disease and stroke,” Prof. Law added.

Campaign group Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) suggested that parents watch for salt hidden in foods.

“The key message for parents is to check labels, especially on foods like breakfast cereals and snack products, which they may not expect to contain high levels of salt,” Jo Butten, nutritionist at the group, said.

Dr. Mike Mead, medical adviser at the Blood Pressure Association, said that 16 million adults in the UK had high blood pressure, which could lead to death and disability.

“This research provides further evidence that our lifestyles have a huge impact on our health and the health of our children. If we are to prevent a future epidemic of hypertension, the more that can be done to educ-ate families about taking some simple steps to leading a healthier lifestyle, the better,” he said.

Ruairi O’Connor, spokesman for the British Heart Foundation, also stressed the need for taking an action on salty diets.

“This research should make us sit up and take notice – our children have blood pressure that is too high because they are eating too much salt,” he said. (ANI)