Salt in the diet becomes less of a concern for individuals that are physically active, according to a presentation at this year’s American Heart Association conference sessions on nutrition, physical activity and metabolism, and cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention. The scientists behind the study concluded that the more active people are, the less their blood pressure rises in response to the amount of salt in their food.

Study participants comprised 1,906 Han Chinese adults (average age, 38) in the Genetic Epidemiology Network of Salt Sensitivity project, designed to identify genetic and environmental factors contributing to salt sensitivity.