Kids who load up on salty meals and snacks get thirsty, and too often they turn to calorie-filled sodas. So maybe cutting back on the salt is a good way to cut the calories.

That is the idea coming from a British study published Wednesday in an American Heart Association journal.

Salt is "a hidden factor in the obesity epidemic," said Graham MacGregor, a co-author of the study by researchers at St. George's University of London.

And researchers say all that salt is not coming from the salt shaker: About 80 percent comes from manufactured food.

"Most people think that sodium comes from the salt shaker. The salt shaker contributes less than 10 to 15 percent," said Dr. Myron Weinberger, a professor of medicine at Indiana University School of Medicine.

"Fast foods, for example, are just loaded with sodium. Processed foods are all very high in sodium," said Weinberger, who wrote an editorial related to the study published in the online journal Hypertension.

Benefits go on
Not only could less salt translate to fewer soft drinks and therefore fewer calories, but a modest reduction in salt has already been shown to lower blood pressure, which increases the risk of later-in-life heart attack and stroke, researchers say.

Also, several studies have shown a link between sugary soft drinks and obesity in children.

Reducing salt in manufactured foods can be done gradually, without the public even noticing, said Dr. Feng He, lead author of the study and cardiovascular research fellow at St. George's. She said a 10 to 20 percent reduction in salt is not even detectable.

"It's important for the food industry to make a reduction," she said.The study suggested that cutting in half the amount of salt British children consume — a decrease of about half a teaspoon a day — would lead to an average reduction of about 18 ounces of sugar-sweetened soft drinks per week.

The study was based on diet data from Great Britain's National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Researchers looked at 1,688 British boys and girls — ages 4 to 18 — over a seven-day period in 1997.

They noted that the amount of salt eaten might be underestimated in the study because it did not include salt added during cooking or at the table. The researchers also found that more than half the fluids drunk by the children were soft drinks, and more than half of those were sugar-sweetened.

The United Kingdom began a government-led campaign to cut salt consumption in 1996 and researchers say more recent studies show that salt intake has already decreased.

Proposal to cut back on salt
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration is taking public comment until March 28 on a consumer group's proposal to restrict the amount of salt in processed foods, among other options. And the American Medical Association has urged the government to require strong labeling of high-salt foods because if salt's connection to high blood pressure and heart problems.

MacGregor said that parents should look at food labels. And they should make sure children eat more fresh fruits and vegetables without adding salt, which stimulates the brain to want more fluid.

"Thirst is one of the most basic instincts. When you get thirsty, you have to drink," MacGregor said.

大量食用过咸的肉类和快餐的儿童口渴时，经常饮用热值高的苏打饮料。这一情况可能改变人们对盐能够降低人体摄入热量看法。

本周三出版的《美国心脏协会杂志》上登载了英国科学家对上述问题的研究报道。

英国乔治大学的研究人员，此项研究报道的作者之一，格雷安。麦克格雷戈说：“盐是导致肥胖病的一种隐藏诱因”。

研究人员称所有引起肥胖的食盐并非来自餐桌上的可摇式盐瓶，其80%来自加工好的食物。

美国印第安纳大学医学院教授迈隆。温博格博士说：“尽管多数人以为过量的盐来自餐桌上的盐瓶，但是餐桌上的盐瓶对肥胖病的贡献占10-15%”。

温博格博士在互联网高血压杂志上撰写的一篇评论中提到：“举个例子，快餐中含有大量的食盐，加工好的食品中盐含量也非常高。”

持续受益

研究人员称，少量摄入食盐不仅可以少喝饮料，从而减少热量的摄入。人们已经证明适当地减少盐的摄入会降低人体的血压，血压升高会引起老年心脏病或中风。

多项研究表明儿童肥胖与大量饮用含糖的饮料有关。

圣乔治大学心血管疾病研究员、负责本项研究冯禾博士说，可以在公众不关注的情况下，将加工好的食品中的盐量逐渐减少。人们很难察觉食品中少加了10-20%的盐。

她说：“减少食品中盐的量非常重要。”该项研究建议将英国儿童的盐摄入量减半---即每天减少半匙，这样每周即可少喝18盎司的含糖饮料。

本项研究数据源于英国国内饮食营养调查的相关数据。调查人员对1688名年龄在4-18岁的男女在1997年七天为一周期的数据进行了分析。

他们注意到研究中食盐摄入的总量可能被低估，因为烹调过程中和餐桌上加入的盐未计入其中。他们还发现儿童饮用的液体一半以上是饮料，超过半数以上的饮料是含糖的饮料。

1996年英国政府掀发起了一场减少摄入的行动，研究人员称多项研究证明盐的摄入量已经下降。

削减盐摄入量的建议

美国国家食品药物管理局正在收集备选方案中针对消费者群体提出的限制食品加工过程的盐的加入量公众建议。美国医学会要求政府责令高盐食品标有意易识别标签，因为摄入食盐过多会诱发高血压和心脏病。

麦克格雷戈说儿童的父母应该认真阅读食品标签，确保孩子吃到没有加盐的新鲜水果和蔬菜，摄入盐多会口渴，从而需补充更多的液体。口渴是人的本能，只要口渴，便想喝。