• Posted February 6, 2025

Super Bowl Food Ads Are Loaded With Salt, Study Finds

Set, hut! Super Bowl Sunday is almost here. But it's not just about big plays and bad calls, it's also a sodium tsunami.

On average, foods advertised during NFL games contain 40% of the daily recommended sodium intake, researchers reported recently in JAMA Network Open.

“We proved what probably a lot of people have long suspected, and that is that foods advertised during NFL games … are frequently high in sodium and calories and fat content,” senior study author Dr. Paul Hauptman, dean of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and chief academic officer for Renown Health, told CNN.

His team analyzed 10 NFL games from September to November 2023 and found that 10% of commercials featured food products. And the sodium content in those foods ranged from 220 mg to 1,872 mg -- nearly half the recommended daily limit, CNN reported. The median was 910 mg, meaning half had more sodium, half had less.

Fast food ranked No. 1 in sodium, researchers noted.

Eating too much salt is linked to high blood pressure, heart failure and stroke.

“Blood pressure is directly related to stroke, cardiovascular disease -- even to death from cardiovascular disease and heart failure,” Dr. Stephen Juraschek told CNN. He's a hypertension specialist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and associate professor of nutrition at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the research.

“Hypertension affects nearly half the US population, 1.5 billion adults worldwide and is growing,” Juraschek added. “This is a tremendous problem.”

What's more, salt isn't the only concern. 

Many of the foods advertised are high in fat and calories, which can be particularly harmful for folks with diabetes, the report states.

Watching football isn’t just a sedentary activity -- it’s also a social eating event.

“Advertising in general is intended to encourage certain types of behaviors, and when you look at products when they’re being advertised, they’re usually showing people smiling in kind of memorable, exciting occasions, maybe with loved ones or friends,” Juraschek told CNN.

Children are especially vulnerable to these messages.

“It’s so important early on that we don’t overexpose young children to high sodium,” he said. “Getting them hooked at a young age can contribute to a lifetime of chronic disease and disability.”

Simple ways to cut back on salt

A low-sodium diet can improve heart health and reduce high blood pressure.

It's essential to know where the sodium in your diet is coming from. Here are some easy ways to reduce sodium intake, according to Juraschek:

• Check nutrition labels.

• Choose fresh foods.

• Cook at home.

• Retrain your palate to appreciate less salt.

Hauptman noted that when patients adhere to a low-sodium diet, their palate "sort of adjusts." 

The takeaway? "Eat in moderation," Hauptman advised, "And just try to read labels."

More information

The U.S. Center's for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has tips for reducing your sodium intake.

SOURCE: CNN, media report, Jan. 30, 2025