Calories and Salt

CALORIE INTAKE OF CHILDREN 

Although obesity is a major problem, children and teenagers still need enough calories to grow and develop into healthy adults. This chart gives a rough guideline to the daily calorie needs of boys and girls at different ages. Kids who are really active may need more; those who are inactive may need less.

Age	Calories per day
	Boys	Girls
1–3	1,230	1,165
4–6	1,715	1,545
7–10	1,970	1,740
11–14	2,220	1,845
15–18	2,755	2,110
Adults	2,550	1,940

SALT INTAKE OF CHILDREN

  It’s important to ensure that children don’t have too much salt. While adults should have no more than 6g of salt a day, children need even less as they have smaller bodies.

So don’t add salt to cooking or meals and check information on labels when you buy processed foods such as crisps, ready meals and sauces – even if they’re aimed at children. Opt for those with the least sodium – it’s the sodium in salt that’s linked to health problems like high blood pressure. Bacon, ham, sausages and cheese are also high in salt so limit these, too.
The maximum amounts of salt children should have at different ages are…

• 1–3 years – 2g a day (0.8g sodium)
• 4–6 years – 3g a day (1.2g sodium)
• 7–10 years – 5g a day (2g sodium)
• 11 years upward – 6g a day (2.5g sodium)