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School kids eat too much salt, DOH research shows

Eating too much salt could be a new threat to the health of children in the country. The latest nutrition and health survey carried out by the Department of Health (DOH) every five years shows that the country’s elementary school students eat an average of 4,000 milligrams of sodium, or more than 10 grams of salt, per day, far exceeding the DOH’s recommended six grams a day at most.

The report says girls and boys in elementary school consume an average of 11.4 and 12.2 grams of salt per day respectively, much more than adults, who consume between nine and 10 grams on average per day.

Studies have shown that high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, strokes, and even stomach cancer and respiratory problems are all related to the consumption of too much salt.

Chin Hui-ming (金惠民), president of the association of dietitians, says that when children get used to strong flavors, this habit becomes very difficult to change.

The number of taste buds declines and with it the children’s facility to taste, so they will eat saltier food. Food and drinks for children need to be more bland than those for adults, he said.

Four of every hundred 15 to 19-year-olds in Taiwan have high blood pressure, the report showed.

Associate professor Chu Nien-feng (祝年豐) of the Tri-Service General Hospital says that environmental factors like stress and eating and drinking habits play an important role in the trend of high blood pressure at a younger age. He recommends that children should be taught they should not eat more than six grams of salt per day. But many people don’t know which products contain salt and or how much they contain, he said.

Wu Hsing-chuan (吳幸娟), an associate professor at the Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, says that sodium is not only found in salt, but also in soup, sauces and other seasoning products, in instant noodles and in products made of meat. Eating out is an important factor, since even if people don’t cook food with a very strong taste at home, they still eat it if they eat out, she said.

The DOH’s study points out children’s consumption of too much sodium does not only come from salty snacks like potato chips. Sodium in instant noodles, bread, steamed buns, sandwiches and hamburgers accounts for about 10 percent of the total intake.

The DOH and the Ministry of Education are currently jointly drafting a plan to promote healthy eating habits for children, with the intention of establishing better ideas on what children should eat with the help of teachers and dietitians, and create an environment for healthy food. The first phase of the plan is aimed at children consuming too much sugar, since this causes obesity in children. The problem of salt consumption would be considered next.

Hsieh Ting-hung (謝定宏), deputy director of the Bureau of Food Sanitation, said the main reason children consume too much sodium is because the snacks they eat have a strong taste and contain a lot of seasoning.

He called on the food industry to voluntarily stop broadcasting ads for products that contain a lot of sugar, salt or calories on children’s channels or during hours when children are watching TV.
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