Lunchbox changes can help cut kids’ salt consumption

AUSSIE  kids are consuming 50 per cent more salt than they should. But simple lunchbox changes could turn that around.

Salt. Australians consume too much salt, a habit which is linked to one of the main risk factors of heart disease - hypertension or raised blood pressure. Thinkstock pic

AUSSIE  kids are consuming 50 per cent more salt than they should, putting themselves on track for heart disease. But simple lunchbox changes could turn that around.

The George Institute for Global Health has found a typical school lunchbox contains 5.21g of salt, almost an entire day’s allowance for children aged 4-8 years.

The amount of salt can be slashed to just 1.26g if families swap food brands to use foods with lower salt content.

A lunchbox containing a ham, cheese and tomato sauce wrap with a rice bubble bar and cheese dip and crackers can vary by 3.95g in salt content depending on which food brands are chosen.

A new free smartphone app Foodswitch can help parents shop for lower salt alternatives.

Much of the salt children eat is not sprinkled on from the salt shaker but hidden in processed foods like bread, cereals and packaged foods.

All they need to do is open the app and swipe the barcode of the product to be offered low salt alternatives (for example, Woolworths home brand white bread instead of Helga’s white bread, Devondale cheese slices rather than Kraft).

Dr Jacqui Webster from the George Institute says recent nutrition surveys shows children are eating up to 50 per cent more salt than recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council’s guidelines.

“It will put up their blood pressure and its setting them up for an increased risk of heart attack later in life,” she said.

Much of the salt children eat is not sprinkled on from the salt shaker but hidden in processed foods like bread, cereals and packaged foods.

Children who learn to like salty tastes will develop a preference for salty foods and will want to eat it throughout their lives, Dr Webster said.

Australia has signed up to a World Health Organisation initiative to cut salt intake by 30 per cent to achieve a 25 per cent reduction in premature death due to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other diseases.