A group of specialists concerned with salt and its effects on health have formed an action group called Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) and are working to reach a consensus with the food industry and Government over the harmful effects of a high salt diet.
They aim to reduce the amount of salt in processed foods as well as the salt added to cooking, and at the table.
CASH which is supported by 22 expert scientific members, has conducted a study on highly popular fast food chains and found that the worse culprit when it came to added salt was a Pizza Hut children's chicken "wrap factory" which along with a soft drink contained 4.3g of salt per portion.
This equates to 142% of a four to six-year-old's daily maximum of salt.
Second place went to KFC kids' mini fillet burger meal which contained 3.5g per portion.
Cash chairman Professor Graham MacGregor says it is over four years since the maximum daily limits for salt were established for adults and children and yet the survey shows that the salt levels in some of these meals are "staggeringly high".
According to the study the recommended levels of salt were 6g for adults; 5g per day for children aged seven to 10; 3g per day for four to six-year-olds and 2g per day for one to three-year-olds.
This latest report has found levels of salt which exceed recommended limits for children many times over, in some cases four times the recommended limit for younger children.
The saltiest meals were found to be the Pizza Hut Pizza Plus; four people sharing this meal would be consuming 12.3g of salt each; KFC Variety Meal adds up to 6.3g of salt, while Burger King's Large Chicken BLT Baguette Meal Deal contains 5.1g of salt.
All the restaurants surveyed state that they have reduced their salt content considerably over recent years and say they do offer meals with much lower salt levels if customers are concerned.
Another problem highlighted by the survey is access to nutrition information and though all the companies surveyed have this displayed on their websites Pizza Hut and KFC did not have any available at the point of sale.
The low-risk diet (high scores for the healthy dietary pattern) characterized by a high intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish and legumes, in combination with moderate alcohol consumption (5 grams of alcohol per day or less), along with the three low-risk lifestyle behaviors [not smoking, having a waist-hip ratio of less than the 75th percentile and being physically active], was associated with 92 percent decreased risk compared with findings in women without any low-risk diet and lifestyle factors, the authors write. This combination of healthy behaviors, present in 5 percent, may prevent 77 percent of myocardial infarctions in the study population.
Several components of fruits, vegetables and whole grains ”including fiber, antioxidant vitamins and minerals ”have been associated with a reduced risk for coronary heart disease, the researchers note. In addition, previous studies have found beneficial effects of small amounts of alcohol in preventing the buildup of plaque in the arteries, which could help prevent heart attacks.
Our study findings indicate that healthy dietary behaviors are present in the population, the authors conclude. These dietary behaviors together with a healthy lifestyle and body weight may prevent most myocardial infarction events.
archinte.ama-assn/