High salt levels in fast food meals

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

The worst options contain more than double a child's recommended daily salt intake in a single meal, according to Consensus Action on Salt and Health (Cash).

Pizza Hut served up the saltiest meals of the four fast food chains surveyed.

A family of four sharing one Pizza Hut "meal deal" would each eat 12.3g of salt - nearly 2.5 times the recommended daily maximum for seven to 10-year-olds.

Cash researchers surveyed 346 individual food and drink items and 264 advertised meal combinations at Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald's and Burger King.

Of these, 21 menu items and 48 meal combinations were aimed specifically at children.

The saltiest children's meal deal was a Pizza Hut kids' chicken "wrap factory" plus soft drink at 4.3g of salt per portion - 142% of a four to six-year-old's daily maximum. A KFC kids' mini fillet burger meal was the second saltiest children's option at 3.5g per portion.

The Pizza Hut "pizza plus" meal for four worked out as having the highest salt content per person per portion at 12.3g.

Commenting on the findings, Cash chairman Professor Graham MacGregor said: "It is over four years since the maximum daily limits for salt were established for adults and children and yet this survey shows that the salt levels in some of these meals are staggeringly high."

Eating too much salt is linked to increased blood pressure which in turn can cause strokes and heart attacks. The recommended maximum daily intake for salt is 6g for adults; 5g per day for children aged seven to 10; 3g per day for four to six-year-olds and 2g per day for one to three-year-olds.