That's Fit

Does the salt shaker sit on your dinner table? Do you regularly purchase low sodium canned foods? I tend to associate reduced salt consumption with aging -- elderly relatives with high blood pressure or other heart problems. But if you've got kids, British researchers say you might want to cut the salt.

The research team examined a 1997 national survey of 2,000 youth between 4 and 18 in Britain. More than 1,600 kids recorded salt and fluid intake in a diary, weighing all food and drink. Interestingly, kids who ate less salt drank fewer sugary soft drinks -- and we have all been hearing for some time now sugar soda is linked to childhood obesity.

Researchers speculated cutting children's salt intake by half would reduce soft drink consumption by two sodas per week. With little children, it's fairly easy to keep sugar soda out of the home and control their intake at special events. But as kids get older, they have more freedom to make their own choices. Cutting the salt in your cooking and stashing away the salt shaker may make them reach for less. No doubt, we all need less sodium in our Western diet.