PRE-SCHOOLERS ARE eating too much salt, according to a new study by researchers from UCD and UCC.
Looking at the eating habits of 500 children across Ireland, the National Pre-school Nutrition Survey found that salt intake in children between the ages of one and four increased with age and was over recommended limits.
Sodium (salt) intake rose from 2.3g/day in one year olds to 3.6g/day in four year olds. The recommended salt intake for children is 2/g a day in one-three year olds and 3g/day in four-six year olds.
“As a population we are still consuming too much salt, mostly from processed foods, which increases their risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes,” Dermot Moriarty of Safefood told TheJournal.ie.
People think that the salt is in the shaker on the table. But most of it is already in our food.
Meat was the main contributor to sodium (salt) intake accounting for 23-25 per cent of total sodium intake in one-four year olds, the study found, followed by processed meats, fresh meat and bread.
The findings were part of a study which found that 23 per cent of children between the age of one and four are overweight or obese.
It followed new research by scientists into the risks posed by obesity to food security.
On Monday, scientists from the London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine said that an overweight population is threatening future food security.
The study, ‘The Weight of Nations: an estimation of adult human biomass’, found that increasing population fatness could have the same implications for world food energy demands as an extra half a billion people living on the earth.
“Everyone accepts that population growth threatens global environmental sustainability” said Professor Ian Roberts. “Our study shows that population fatness is also a major threat. Unless we tackle both population and fatness our chances are slim.”
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