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Show: February 6, 2011:
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Did You Know?: Teens Consume Too Much Salt
Host: Jeremy Shere, PhD
Did you Know? is presented by Wishard Health Services, becoming Eskenazi Health in 2014.
I’m Jeremy Shere.
Eating too much salt can be a problem for adults with high blood pressure. But did you know that teens can suffer from eating lots of salt too?
The typical American teenager eats about 9 grams of salt per day. That’s twice the recommended amount.
And it’s not because teens sprinkle lots salt on food. Most of the salt that teens and adults get is already added to processed and prepared foods. Pizza is especially bad, and even baked good have a lot of salt.
According to a recent study, cutting back on salt is just as important for teens as it is for adults. A computer model showed that reducing salt consumption by as little as a half teaspoon a day could lower teens’ risk for high blood pressure by as much as 63%. And it could also help more teens avoid high blood pressure as they grow into adults.
And now you know.
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Did You Know? is presented by Senior Care at Wishard, answering your questions at LivingLongerBetter.org
Additional Resources:
- Read more about the UC San Francisco study of teen salt intake at MedicalNewsToday.
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