Most packaged meals and snacks marketed to toddlers have more than the recommended amount of sodium per serving, meaning children as young as 1 are most likely eating far too much salt early in life, according to one of several studies on sodium presented this week.
The studies were presented at the American Heart Association's Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans.
The findings were alarming to researchers since there is evidence a child's sodium intake is related to the likelihood that he or she will develop hypertension as an adult. Hypertension is a major risk factor of cardiovascular disease and the number-one killer of men and women in the United States.
"The good news is that commercial foods for babies, when they start complimentary feeding from 4 to 12 months ... are relatively low in sodium," explains Joyce Maalouf, the study's lead author and a fellow at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"But the products marketed to toddlers were significantly higher in sodium: more than 75% of the toddler meals and snacks had high sodium content."
Maalouf and her team reviewed more than 1,100 products specifically marketed to babies and toddlers that were sold in grocery stores. Any product that had more than 210 milligrams of sodium per serving was defined as being high in sodium, based on guidelines outlined by the Institute of Medicine and MyPlate.gov for salt intake and young children.
Some of the toddler meals tested had upwards of 630 milligrams of sodium per serving. Meals and "savory snacks" had the highest amount of sodium compared to the cereal bars and fruit snacks that were tested.
Maalouf and her team are not releasing the brand names of the foods they tested but described the meals as being readily available in grocery stores aisles stocked with food for babies and toddlers.
"We're talking meals that are pre-packed ... like mac and cheese, pasta with meat sauce, pizza, or chicken and vegetables," says Maalouf.
"These are not frozen meals, they're usually microwavable."