CDC Study Says Kids Are Getting Too Much Salt

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control finds children are getting way too much salt in their diet.

They found many children averaging more than 3300 milligrams of salt daily. Some pin it on all those cheeseburgers and daily snack foods.

Rutgers nutrition expert Peggy Policastro says she's not surprised, especially with the amount of processed foods that children are consuming.

The Fed's recommendation is no more than 2300 milligrams of salt daily, about a teaspoon full. Policastro says for parents, the takeaway here is to keep an eye on how much processed foods that are consuming, even more than watching their use of the salt shaker.

The CDC says children who consume the most salt double their high blood pressure risk. For obese kids, the high blood pressure risk triples. Studies have also found that elevated blood pressure in children can lead to high blood pressure in adulthood, and even premature heart disease.

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