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Salt intake and dietary sources of salt on weekdays and weekend days in Australian adults

journal contribution
posted on 2018-01-01, 00:00 authored by Caryl NowsonCaryl Nowson, Karen Lim, M A Land, J Webster, J E Shaw, J Chalmers, V Flood, M Woodward, Carley GrimesCarley Grimes
Objective To assess if there is a difference in salt intake (24 h urine collection and dietary recall) and dietary sources of salt (Na) on weekdays and weekend days.Design A cross-sectional study of adults who provided one 24 h urine collection and one telephone-administered 24 h dietary recall.Setting Community-dwelling adults living in the State of Victoria, Australia.Subjects Adults (n 598) who participated in a health survey (53·5 % women; mean age 57·1 (95 % CI 56·2, 58·1) years).Results Mean (95 % CI) salt intake (dietary recall) was 6·8 (6·6, 7·1) g/d and 24 h urinary salt excretion was 8·1 (7·8, 8·3) g/d. Mean dietary and 24 h urinary salt (age-adjusted) were 0·9 (0·1, 1·6) g/d (P=0·024) and 0·8 (0·3, 1·6) g/d (P=0·0017), respectively, higher at weekends compared with weekdays. There was an indication of a greater energy intake at weekends (+0·6 (0·02, 1·2) MJ/d, P=0·06), but no difference in Na density (weekday: 291 (279, 304) mg/MJ; weekend: 304 (281, 327) mg/MJ; P=0·360). Cereals/cereal products and dishes, meat, poultry, milk products and gravy/sauces accounted for 71 % of dietary Na.Conclusions Mean salt intake (24 h urine collection) was more than 60 % above the recommended level of 5 g salt/d and 8-14 % more salt was consumed at weekends than on weekdays. Substantial reductions in the Na content of staple foods, processed meat, sauces, mixed dishes (e.g. pasta), convenience and takeaway foods are required to achieve a significant consistent reduction in population salt intake throughout the week.

History

Journal

Public Health Nutrition

Volume

21

Issue

12

Pagination

2174 - 2182

ISSN

1368-9800

eISSN

1475-2727

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2018, The Authors