Parents have been advised to pay closer attention to the amount of sodium their children consume, as regular intake of highly salted and processed foods may increase their risk of developing high blood pressure.
Health experts said the danger often goes beyond the salt added during cooking, noting that children may consume significant amounts of sodium from seasoning cubes, instant noodles, processed meats, crisps, packaged snacks and other processed foods.
According to the experts, excessive sodium intake can cause the body to retain fluid, increasing the volume of blood circulating through the blood vessels and placing additional pressure on their walls.
Speaking with PUNCH HealthWise, the Head of Paediatrics at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, and Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Abdurrazzaq Alege, said the body initially attempts to regulate excess sodium after a child consumes salty food.
He explained that the kidneys play a major role in removing excess sodium and maintaining the appropriate balance of fluids and electrolytes in the body.
Alege, however, said the concern becomes more significant when high salt consumption turns into a regular habit.
“It’s not just a one-off thing. There’s a risk of developing high blood pressure,” he warned.
The paediatrician explained that excess sodium could make the body retain more fluid, thereby increasing the amount of fluid in the bloodstream and putting greater pressure on the blood vessels.
He noted that the body initially tries to correct the imbalance through several mechanisms, including triggering thirst, which encourages increased water intake.
“Thirst is a response. It’s not actually a complication,” he clarified.
However, Alege said these regulatory mechanisms might become less effective when excessive sodium consumption continues over a prolonged period.
He warned that hypertension that begins during childhood could have long-term consequences because affected children may spend more years living with elevated blood pressure.
“If the high blood pressure begins in childhood, there is a great chance that the child will continue to have hypertension even later in adulthood,” Alege cautioned.
He linked prolonged hypertension to cardiovascular complications, including heart disease and atherosclerosis, which involves the buildup of fatty deposits in the arteries.
The paediatrician identified children already living with hypertension, kidney disease, congenital abnormalities of the kidneys and urinary tract, certain heart conditions and some endocrine disorders as requiring particular attention to their sodium intake.
Processed foods a concern
Alege stressed that parents should not assess their children’s salt consumption solely by considering the amount added while preparing meals.
He said sodium was also found in several processed and preserved foods that children commonly consume, making it possible for their overall intake to be much higher than parents realise.
He particularly cautioned against deliberately adding excessive salt to children’s meals because of the belief that it makes food more enjoyable.
“Salt is good, it is necessary for the body. But these children should not take it in excess,” he cautioned.
The paediatrician also noted that children’s taste preferences could be influenced by the foods they regularly consume. He therefore advised parents to introduce children to less salty meals from an early age.
He urged families to reduce heavily salted and highly processed foods in children’s diets and seek medical assessment when they have concerns about a child’s health or blood pressure.
The World Health Organisation recommends reducing sodium intake as part of efforts to control blood pressure among children aged two to 15 years. The organisation says the adult maximum of 2,000mg of sodium per day should be adjusted downward for children according to their energy requirements.
WHO identifies processed foods, snack foods and condiments such as bouillon or stock cubes among important sources of sodium.
The global health body also warns that children with elevated blood pressure face an increased risk of cardiovascular problems during childhood and are more likely to develop hypertension and cardiovascular diseases later in life.
Nigerian children affected
The concern is also reflected in Nigerian research.
A 2017 systematic review by Nigerian researcher, Chukwunonso E.C.C. Ejike, published in the Journal of Tropical Pediatrics, reviewed 30 studies and found that 5.1 per cent of Nigerian children and adolescents had hypertension, while another 8.2 per cent had prehypertension.
Also speaking, the Assistant Director of Dietetics at the Lagos State Health Service Commission, General Hospital, Badagry, Olusola Malomo, urged parents to pay greater attention to the different sources of sodium in their children’s diets.
Malomo explained that children’s sodium requirements vary according to age and stressed that they should not simply be fed according to adult dietary habits.
He listed seasoning cubes, instant noodles, processed meats, crisps, packaged snacks and other highly processed foods among items parents should monitor.
According to him, the amount of sodium consumed by children can easily be underestimated when parents focus only on the salt directly added to meals.
He advised families to reduce their children’s intake of highly processed and heavily salted foods and use natural ingredients to improve the flavour of meals.
“Instead of all these processed foods, take natural foods,” he advised.
Malomo recommended that instant noodles and packaged snacks be treated as occasional foods rather than daily staples. He also encouraged parents to check nutrition labels when purchasing processed products.
He stressed that salt should not be completely eliminated from children’s diets because sodium is necessary for normal body functions, but warned against making excessive salt consumption a routine.
“The body gets accustomed to what you feed it,” he noted.
The dietitian explained that repeatedly feeding children heavily salted foods could condition them to prefer salty flavours, potentially making it more difficult to reduce their salt intake as they grow older.
He urged parents to gradually reduce the quantity of salt and salty seasonings used in children’s meals rather than waiting until a health problem emerges.
Malomo further advised parents to take children for appropriate medical checks, particularly where there are concerns about blood pressure or an underlying health condition.
He encouraged families to make less processed foods and naturally prepared meals a regular part of children’s diets, stressing that early dietary habits could play an important role in promoting healthier choices later in life.