CDC: Most Americans Exceed Dietary Guidelines For Salt.

Bloomberg News  (10/21, Lopatto) reports, "Almost all US citizens, including children, exceed the dietary guidelines for salt, putting them at risk for hypertension and heart disease, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

        The National Journal  (10/21, Fox, Subscription Publication) reports that approximately "half the population should limit salt to very low levels -- 1,500 milligrams a day or less. But virtually none of those who should limit salt are doing so, the CDC said in" its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

        The CNN  (10/21) "The Chart" blog reports, "The new report is based on a nationally representative survey conducted by the CDC between 2005 and 2008, which included a detailed diet questionnaire."

        Forbes  (10/21, Husten) reports, "In a statement issued by the AHA [American Heart Association], however, the president of the AHA, Gordon Tomoselli, says the CDC report is 'too conservative, in its suggestion that only 47.6 percent of American adults fit into the population group that should be consuming no more than 1500 mg a day of sodium.'"

        HeartWire  (10/21, Stiles) reports that Tomoselli added, "This suggestion doesn't go far enough to address either the human or economic burden that our excessive intake of salt costs."

        Also covering the story were the Chicago Tribune  (10/21, Eng), HealthDay  (10/21, Preidt), and WebMD  (10/21, Hendrick).