Nuraan Cader
A NEW 2015 international survey carried out by World Action on Salt and Health (WASH) and supported by the Heart and Stroke Foundation SA (HSFSA) investigated the salt content of 387 popular children’s meal combinations.
The survey revealed that children are being served worryingly high amounts of salt by popular fast food chains; with 82 percent (134/163) of meals containing more than 1g of salt per dish. That’s more than a child aged four to six years should be eating in one sitting, with some meals containing as much salt as 10 packets of ready salted chips. A standard 32.5g packet of Walkers ready salted chips in the UK contains 0.5g of salt. A KFC popcorn nuggets and fries contains 5.34g salt per serving – 10.68 packets of ready salted chips worth of salt.
The most worrying finding from a South African perspective is that we feature among the top 10 countries for the saltiest children’s fast food meals from the 37 countries surveyed globally. A KFC kiddies chicken burger and small chips contains 2.91g of salt – almost the entire daily salt intake recommended for children aged four to six. South Africa further has the third saltiest McDonald’s chicken nugget meal out of 29 countries (see Table 2).
The survey results are extremely relevant in South Africa, where fast food intake is on the rise with an estimated one in three adolescents consuming take-away meals three times a week.
With more than half of all meals (53 percent) containing more than half a day’s worth of salt for a four to six-year-old (1.5g), WASH is calling for all food manufacturers to universally reduce the salt content of their products to help us achieve the global maximum target of 5g salt per adult per day (4) – with children’s meals taking priority – and saving lives! The HSFSA wants to emphasise the importance of this call to action among all South African fast food chains, both international and local. “With South Africans having one of the highest rates of high blood pressure worldwide and one in 10 children already suffering from high blood pressure, we simply cannot afford to allow such high levels of salt in popular children’s meals,” says Christelle Crickmore, science and programme development manager, HSFSA.
The survey, the first of its kind looking at children’s meals sold from popular fast food chains, revealed the saltiest children’s meals around the world, highlighting not only the excessive amounts of salt in these meals but also the huge variation in salt content of the same meals sold in different countries: “The fact that these fast food chains are able to produce less salty children’s meals in some countries means they can do the same in all countries, and should immediately. All children, regardless of where they are from, should be able to enjoy the occasional meal out, as a treat, without putting their health at risk,” says Clare Farrand, public health nutritionist and international programme lead at WASH.
“The more salt you eat as a child, the more likely you are to have serious health issues in later life,” says Graham MacGregor, professor of cardiovascular medicine at Queen Mary University of London and chairperson of WASH. “This can include high blood pressure, increased risk of stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis and kidney disease. That is why it is vitally important that children do not get used to the taste of salt.”
Finally, of the 387 children’s foods choices surveyed, only 233 had complete nutritional information to allow comparison of salt contents. “Lack of nutritional information makes it impossible for parents to make a healthy choice for their children,” says Stephanie Tucker, nutritionist at WASH. “Therefore all fast-food restaurants should provide nutrition information, so that people can know exactly what is in their food.”
l Cader is the HSFSA PR & Communications Officer