Everyone knows it’s good for adults to watch their salt and sugar intake. It’s important for little kids, too. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many meals and snacks made especially for toddlers have worrisome amounts of both.
According to the CDC study, seven out of every 10 prepackaged dinners marketed for toddlers contain too much salt. Snacks, meanwhile, tended to have too much sugar. That’s a big issue, because young children are developing weight and blood-pressure problems. About 25 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 5 are overweight, according to researchers, and 80 percent of kids between the ages of 1 and 3 eat more salt than they should.
“Eating foods which are high in sodium can set up a child for high blood pressure and later on for cardiovascular disease,” says Mary Cogswell of the CDC, noting that about one out of every nine children already has blood pressure that’s higher than normal. (Associated Press)