Download the secret ingredient in the obesity epidemic and food industry profits

Salt - the secret ingredient in the obesity epidemic and food industry
profits
25 March 2004
Young, vulnerable children are being targeted by the food industry with very
highly salted, calorie-dense foods. WHY?
Studies have shown that very highly salted products suppress the salt taste
receptors so that young children demand foods with a high salt content. Indeed,
many would claim that children become habituated or addicted to these foods,
which are often at or just below the salt concentration of seawater.
Experiments in humans have shown that it takes at least one month for the salt
taste receptors to readjust to lower salt concentrations so it is extremely difficult
to get children to stop eating these highly salted processed foods (1) When they
taste good, fresh, home-cooked food, they reject it as being too bland. Once
habituated to highly salted processed foods, children and young people are likely
to continue buying and eating them for the rest of their lives.
The big advantage to the food industry is that these types of food, e.g. Dairylea
Lunchables and Cheese Strings etc, are potentially very profitable. The
ingredients are low-cost and therefore the profits are likely to be much larger than
if good quality foods were used. These cheap, salty foods are nearly always high
in fat and sugar and are therefore very calorie dense (i.e. very high in calories for
very little weight). For example, one Cheese String ‘Attack a snack’ has the same
calories as 7 apples. (2)
The high salt content has another major secret advantage to the food industry salt intake is the main drive to thirst. When children consume these very salty
foods they immediately become thirsty and many will be given soft drinks. These
drinks are a huge hidden source of calories – one can of fizzy drink contains
seven teaspoons of sugar – a total of 142 calories (see notes). If you saw an
adult adding seven teaspoons of sugar to tea or coffee, you might raise your
eyebrows, but no-one thinks twice about giving a can of cola to a child.
Carefully controlled studies of changing salt intake show that if salt intake were
reduced by half, soft drink consumption in the UK would fall by approximately 3
billion drinks a year (3). This would not be in the interests of soft drink
manufacturers.
Therefore high salt foods underlie the obesity epidemic, but also, in the amounts
now consumed by children and adults, salt is a long term toxin that slowly
increases blood pressure as we age. For example at 20 yrs of age 20% of the
population has raised blood pressure, at 50 yrs 50% of the population has raised
blood pressure and at 80 yrs the number with raised blood pressure rises to
80%(4). Raised blood pressure is the major cause of strokes and heart attacks over 50% of the UK population suffers or dies from a stroke or heart attack.
The high saturated fat content in these products will also increase blood
cholesterol levels, another major cause of heart attacks and strokes.
Furthermore, obesity and consequent diabetes will make the risk even greater.
The food industry must act more responsibly and stop marketing these hidden
dangerous ingredients to vulnerable children for purely commercial reasons at
the expense of their future health.
Notes to Editors:

The Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) is a group of medical
specialists who are the UK’s leading experts on the effects of salt on
health. Over the last eight years, CASH has been working to reduce the
amount of salt in the UK diet. Excess salt in our diet is the major cause of
high blood pressure, which leads to strokes, heart attacks and heart
failure- the UK’s greatest killers. Salt is also related to cancer of the
stomach, osteoporosis, kidney disease, asthma and fluid retention.

The Government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN)
published guidelines in May 2003 calling for adults to eat no more than 6g
of salt per day (current intake is around 10-12g per day), and for children
much less- dependent upon age. (www.sacn.gov.uk)

Around 80% of our salt intake now comes from salt hidden in food, e.g.
processed food, canteen meals, fast food and restaurant food.

Already over 30% of the adult population in the UK has high blood
pressure, and the proportion rapidly increases with age, i.e. 50% at 50
years, 70% at 70 years. Blood pressure is the major cause of strokes,
heart failure and heart attacks.

For healthy eating, to prevent strokes, heart attacks and cancer for both
children and adults the message is clear:
o Reduce salt intake in adults to less than 6 grams per day and much
smaller amounts in children, depending on age.
o Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, at least five portions a day.
o Eat less fat, particularly saturated fat.
o Eat less sugar
References:
(1) Bertino M, Beauchamp GK, Engelman K. Long term reduction in dietary
sodium alters the taste of salt. Am J Clin Nutr. 1982;36:1134-1144.
(2) Comparison of calorie density
Food
Weight of product
kcal
Cheese string ‘Attack a
110g
266 kcal
110g
38.5 kcal
snack’
1 apple
Therefore 1 Cheese string ‘Attack a snack’ = 7 apples
4) HSE for England
Food
Sodium (g)
Salt (g) per
Salt content
Energy content
per 100g
100g
per portion (g)
per product (Kcal)
Seawater
1.0
2.5
n/a
n/a
Cheese string "attack a
0.9
2.25
2.5
266
0.8
2
2.25
320
0.9
2.25
2.5
320
snack"
Dairylea lunchables
stackems (tasty chicken)
Dairylea lunchables
stackems (yummy ham)
Product
Coca-cola,
Energy per
Sugar per
Energy per
Sugar per
330ml can
330ml can
500ml bottle
500ml bottle
(Kcal)
(g)
(Kcal)
(g)
141
35 (7tsps)*
215
53.5 (10.7 tsps)*
151
39 (7.7
230
58.5 (11.7 tsps)*
regular
Pepsi, regular
tsps)*
*Tsps = tea spoons