Teens warned to cut down salt if they wish to avoid high blood pressure

A teenager who consumes recommended quantities of salt each day has a considerably lower risk of developing hypertension (high blood pressure), stroke, heart disease, and dying prematurely later on in life during adulthood, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, explained at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010, Chicago. They added that processed foods contribute significantly to the high salt intake that currently affects many teens and their families. They also suggest that food manufacturers should do more to reduce the levels of salt in their produce.

Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, Ph.D., M.D. and team used an advanced computer modeling analysis system to work out the long-term health benefits if salt levels in processed foods were reduced by 3-grams per day nationwide. They focused on produce consumed most commonly by male and female teenagers.

The team explain that teenagers consume more salt than any other age group in America - over 9 grams daily, equivalent to over 3,800 milligrams of sodium. The daily recommended amount stands at 1,500 milligrams of sodium daily, according to the American Heart Association.

They worked out that a 3 gram drop in daily salt intake among teenagers would result in a 380,000 to 550,000 reduction in the eventual number of young adults or late teenagers with hypertension (high blood pressure) - a decrease of between 44% to 63%.

This same reduction in daily salt intake during teen years would eventually result in between 2.7 million to 3.9 million fewer adults aged 35 to 50 with hypertension.

Bibbins-Domingo, Ph.D., M.D. said:

"Reducing the amount of salt that is already added to the food that we eat could mean that teenagers live many more years free of hypertension. The additional benefit of lowering salt consumption early is that we can hopefully change the expectations of how food should taste, ideally to something slightly less salty.

A one-gram-per-day reduction in salt consumption results in a small drop of systolic blood pressure of 0.8 mm Hg. Reducing the salt in the teenage diet from an average of 9 grams to 6 grams would get teenage boys and girls to appropriate levels of salt intake."

Highlighted below are some projections the team made if teenagers reduced their daily salt intake. By the time the teenagers were 50 years old:

• There would be 120,000 to 210,000 fewer cases of coronary heart disease, a drop of 7% to 12%
• There would be 36,000 to 64,000 fewer heart attacks, a fall of 8% to 14%
• There would be 16,000 to 28,000 fewer strokes, a reduction of 5% to 8%
• There would be 69,000 to 120,000 fewer deaths from any cause

According to the researchers, approximately 80% of a typical teenager's salt intake comes from processed foods, just over a third comes from breads, pastries and cereals.

Bibbins-Domingo, Ph.D., M.D. said:

"The hidden places of salt in our diet are in breads and cereals, canned foods and condiments, and of course fast foods," said Bibbins-Domingo, also co-director of the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations. "Most of the salt that we eat is not from our salt shaker, but salt that is already added in food that we eat."

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the most salt-laden processed food regularly eaten by teenagers is pizza.

The team welcomes the efforts made by some food manufacturers to reduce salt content in their produce, such as joining the National Sodium Reduction initiative. However, these efforts should be widened to all manufacturers, who should work with state and federal authorities.

Source: American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2010

Written by Christian Nrodqvist 
Copyright: Medical News Today