Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 43 9 2014 09 15 1204 11 Amir Waseem 1. Dept. of Chemistry, Quaid-i-Azam University , Islamabad, Pakistan. Muhammad Nafees 2. State Key Laboratory of Coordination Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University , Nanjing 210093, China. Ghulam Murtaza 3. Dept. of Pharmacy, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology , Islamabad, Pakistan. Ashif Sajjad 4. Institute of Biochemistry, University of Balochistan , Quetta, Pakistan. Zahid Mehmood 4. Institute of Biochemistry, University of Balochistan , Quetta, Pakistan. Abdul Rauf Siddiqi 5. Department of BioSciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology , Islamabad, Pakistan. 2015 10 15 Excess sodium intake can lead to hypertension, the primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the sodium and potassium contents of foodstuff used by infants and children of Pakistan.We analyzed the sodium and potassium contents of infant milk formula (<6 months), follow up milk formula (>6 months), baby food (cereals), biscuits, fruit juices, potato chips (crisps), cheese puffs, roasted cereals (salty), ice cream cones (kulfi) all of which are the processed food extensively used by the children. The amount of sodium and potassium contents in drinking water of few cities of Pakistan were also considered to assess the additional sodium/potassium in the preparation of milk using infant milk formula.Na to K ratio (Na:K) was determined 0.3-1.23, 0.3-1.16, 0.33-0.82, 0.54-2.68, 0.51-0.85, 2.86 and 1.02 for infant milk formula (<6 months), follow up milk formula (>6 months), baby food (cereals), biscuits, fruit juices, potato chips (crisps, cheese puffs, roasted cereals), ice cream cones (kulfi), respectively.The higher sodium content is present than most of the quoted values; whereas lower potassium is present than the recommended values. The higher Na:K ratio indicates the severity of the situation where it is commonly stated that "higher an individual's salt intake, the higher an individual's blood pressure". Present study indicates that nearly all Pakistani children consume substantially more salt than they need which will affect health status in later life. https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/3938 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/3938/3599