Researchers from St George's University of London say parents need to monitor the salt content of their child's food as they have found a significant association of salt intake with systolic blood pressure.

In a new study it has been found that the average four-year-old ate 4.7g a day, which is far above the 2-3g recommended for this age group.

The study of more than 1,600 children ages 4 to 14, was part of an official audit for the Department of Health called the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

The children kept a diary of what they ate and drank and their salt intake and blood pressure was recorded.

Salt intake did not include salt added in cooking or at the table, although this often occurred.

It was found that the more salt children ate, the higher their blood pressure became; in fact for each extra gram of salt eaten, there was a related increase in systolic blood pressure.

The researchers based their findings on data collected in Britain's National Diet and Nutrition Survey and they believe the results are important because they confirm that eating more salt increases blood pressure.

The findings also lend support to the current public health campaign to reduce salt in the diet.

Experts say reducing salt intake in childhood will very likely translate into lower levels of blood pressure in adulthood and reduce the risk of developing heart disease and stroke.

They say parents need to check labels, especially on foods such as breakfast cereals and snack products, which they may not expect to contain high levels of salt, and choose the lower salt options and they warn parents to look out for the hidden salt in foods.

The study is published in the Journal of Human Hypertension.

Among those panacea diets, and absolutely ignoring all medical recommendations on what a healthy diet should be like, consumers will come across the South Beach diet, a revolutionary plan that allows you to eat as much as you wish while assuring that to lose weight you will have to undergo a two-week purifying period based upon the elimination of sugar and simple carbohydrates. Atkins nutritional method is another example: with this diet you can eat unlimited amounts of fats “ such as butter “ as well as of meat, fish, eggs and dairy products, whilst restricting vegetables and fruit. These are only two of the endless list of miracle diets, in which the Artichoke diet or the Blood Type diet also occupy leading positions.

Prof. Mart?­nez de Victoria insists that the best way to control body weight is to combine a limited food intake with regular physical exercise. In this sense, he states that with a 500 to 700 calorie deficit, depending on body weight, age and physical exercise, a person can gradually lose 6.5 lbs a month, with the guarantee of not recovering double the weight they lost in half the time they lost it.

In the same way, this researcher stresses the fact that a high-fibre diet helps control obesity, as fibre-rich foods facilitate a lower intake because their mastication time is longer and, due to their volume, produce the filling sensation more quickly. Furthermore, fibre speeds intestinal transit time while slowing food absorption. All these data have been recently presented in the University of Granada's summer course Healthy Food and Physical Activity (Alimentaci n Saludable y Actividad F?­sica), organised by the UGR's Centro Mediterraneo.

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