Too much salt/sodium in the diet leads to hypertension, but why in a child as young as 13?


Normally, hypertension is associated with older people,and usually with people who are quite a bit overweight, but who would dream that it could be possible in someone who looks like an athlete and is only 13 years old?

I have always been sodium-conscious since adulthood. My sons think I am weird worrying about water weight, but seriously I actually feel bigger and more bloated with extra water weight and that time of the month - well, I sometimes think I get water on the brain too!! Then sometimes that water weight has the cheek to turn into real weight gained. I don't know - it could be imagined, but at any rate, I use a light salt and a little of the real thing to get a similar effect. My husband has hypertension and I like to keep him in mind as well. When I cook for all of us, it is lower sodium, but still very tasty, as I like using herbs, etc. Anyway, the guys in my house like cold cuts (I don't - big surprise!) and chips and things like that. I will have maybe one chip once in a blue moon and that's it. My son could eat a whole bag (or tube) in a sitting. Imagine!

My point is, my husband found this article in the globe and mail that talks about a teenager, aged 13, who has serious hypertension and an enlarged heart as a result. This is really tragic! I myself had no idea that this is becoming more common. Here is the article.