The World Health Organisation has for the first time recommended limits on children’s daily consumption of sodium which it hoped would help in the global fight against diet-related diseases becoming chronic.

In advice to its 194 member states, the UN agency noted high sodium levels were a factor behind elevated blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Heart disease, stroke and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory disease kill more people globally each year than all other causes combined, the agency said.

The guidelines vary depending on the child’s size, age and energy needs, and apply to children over the age of two.

The WHO also somewhat revised its recommendations for adults, down to less than 2,000 mg of sodium intake per day, from the current 2,000 mg, in addition to a recommendation of at least 3,510 mg of potassium a day.

Sodium is found naturally in many foods such as milk products and eggs but is present in much higher levels in processed foods, the WHO said. One 100-gram serving of bacon, pretzels or popcorn has nearly as much sodium as the daily recommended maximum, for example, at about 1,500 mg.