For decades, doctors have warned patients that too much salt can be bad for the heart. Heart attack has long beenconsidered a grown-up problem, but new research suggests that salt is starting to affect children. Eating too much salty food when you’re young can lead to health problems later.

Salt is made up of two elements: sodium andchlorine. Dietary guidelines recommend that adults and kids aged 9-13 shouldn’t consume more than about a teaspoon of sodium daily. The average American eats twice this amount.This worries doctors because too much sodium results in the body producing more blood. To pump the extra blood, the heart has to work harder. This causes a rise in blood pressure---a measurement of how stressed the heart is. High blood pressure often leads to heart disease.

A kid with high blood pressure is more likely to become a grown-up with high blood pressure. Reducing salt might also help stop childhood obesity. British researchers recently found that kids who eat less salt also drink fewer sugary soft drinks. Drinking fewer fizzy drinks makes kids less likely to gain weight, become obese and develop high bloodpressure.

Salt can affect more than just your heart and weight. A recent study found that a growing number of kids in theUSaresuffering from kidney stones. This painful condition usually affects people aged over 40. Now, kids as young as five are getting it.

Cutting down on salt can be hard, but you can retrain yourself to prefer less salty food. The best way to reduce the amount of sodium you eat is to make changes gradually. Start by adding half as much salt to your dinner as you normally do. Switch to fresh foods instead of canned and bottled versions. And go easy on the condiments. You might also want to start reading nutrition labels. You may be surprised to learn that there are1,150 mg of sodium in a double cheeseburger, and over 2,000 mg in many frozen meals.

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In the past, most people exercised every day. They didn’t exercise on purpose. Instead, they exercised by working on the land and by walking everywhere. Now, however, people do not take as much exercise. Many people work in offices or factories where they do not have to move around very much. Now that cities are so big, few people walk to work. They drive or travel by bus or train. With modern telecommunications technology, they don’t have to move around to get messages delivered. What they have to do is just to press buttons on their phones or other devices.

Because of this unhealthy modern lifestyle, many people try to exercise in other ways. Jogging and running are very popular. Going to the gym is also a popular way of getting exercise. Many women prefer to go to aerobic (有氧的) classes at the gym. In these classes, music is played loudly and an instructor shouts out instructions for the exercises. The people in the class run, stretch and jump around for an hour or more. Men and women also do weight training at the gym. They lift heavy weights to build up their muscles.

Although thousands of people do these sorts of exercises every day, some experts believe that they are actually bad for the body. Running on hard surfaces like roads can damage your feet and knees, and aerobic and weight training can be dangerous if the instructor is not properly trained. It’s easy to hurt yourself if you lift heavy weight or exercise hard for a long time.

The experts believe that more gentle forms of exercise are better. They advise people to walk more as it is one of best ways to exercise, and does not damage the body at all. They also suggest traditional Chinese exercises such as Tai Chi because these activities are better for the body than hard, fast activities like running. Tai Chi trains your flexibility and improves your sense of balance. Meanwhile, it has the least harmful effect on your joints and knees.