Heavy consumption of salted snacks in obese teens may accelerate the aging process, a latest study shows.
Past studies have shown that telomeres, the protective ends of chromosomes naturally shorten with age. But unhealthy habits such as smoking, no exercise and high body fat, contribute to faster ageing process by shortening the telomeres.
In order to understand how sodium affects the length of telomeres, researchers conducted the study on 766 teenagers aged between 14 and 18. They were divided into separate groups based on their sodium intake. They found that teens in the low-intake group consumed an average of 2,388 mg/day, compared with 4,142 mg/day in the high-intake group.
The study authors found that participants in both the groups consumed significantly more than the recommended maximum of 1,500 mg/day that is equal to nearly 2/3 teaspoon of salt.
The researchers analyzed several factors that influence telomere length. They found that overweight or obese teens who consumed higher levels of sodium had significantly shorter telomeres than those who consumed less sodium.
"Lowering sodium intake, especially if you are overweight or obese, may slow down the cellular aging process that plays an important role in the development of heart disease," lead researcher Haidong Zhu, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics at Medical College of Georgia, Georgia Regents University in Augusta, GA., said in a news release.
The researchers said that sodium intake did not affect telomere length in normal weight teens.
"Even in these relatively healthy young people, we can already see the effect of high sodium intake, suggesting that high sodium intake and obesity may act synergistically to accelerate cellular aging," Zhu said.
The authors said the study results indicated obesity makes a person sensitive to salt. This explains why higher levels of sodium intake have a greater impact on overweight teens.
"Lowering sodium intake may be an easier first step than losing weight for overweight young people who want to lower their risk of heart disease," Zhu said. "The majority of sodium in the diet comes from processed foods, so parents can help by cooking fresh meals more often and by offering fresh fruit rather than potato chips for a snack."
The findings were presented at the American Heart Association's 'Epidemiology & Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity & Metabolism Scientific Sessions 2014.'
