CHICAGO -- American children eat as much salt as adults -- about
1,000 milligrams too much, or the same amount as in just one
McDonald's Big Mac hamburger. Extra salt is linked with higher
blood pressure, even in kids, but government research says those
who are overweight and obese may be most vulnerable to its
effects. The new findings from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention were published online Monday in the journal
Pediatrics. Previous research has shown similar results in
adults but studies on salt, weight and blood pressure are scarce
in children. The CDC researchers looked at data on 6,200 U.S.
kids aged 8 to 18 involved in 2003-08 national health surveys.
The children were asked twice over several days to detail all
foods they'd eaten the previous day; the researchers calculated
salt intake from their answers. Overall, 15 percent had either
high blood pressure or slightly elevated blood pressure called
prehypertension. Those who ate the most salt faced double the
risk of having elevated bl