AsianScientist (Feb. 24, 2016) – A diet study has shown that in 2009-2012, 20 out of 31 Chinese provinces exceeded the recommended daily maximum intake of salt and sodium, which is five grams and two grams per day respectively. However, this was still an improvement over salt intake in 2002. Their work was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Noncommunicable diseases are increasing globally, with major socioeconomic implications. The World Health Organization has proposed noncommunicable disease-related targets, including a 30 percent reduction in salt/sodium intake to reduce risk of hypertension.
In China, hypertension prevalence is rising and in 2002, salt intake was high (12 grams/person/day). However, China’s dietary habits are changing.
Chief scientist Dr. Wu Yongning of the China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment in Beijing and colleagues compared salt and sodium consumption in China in 2000 with 2009-2012. Researchers undertook total diet studies in 2000 and 2009-2011 in 12 of China’s 31 mainland provinces; eight additional provinces were studied in 2009-2012, expanding geographic coverage.
The diet studies, in which over 9,700 people participated, comprised of weighed food intake and laboratory analysis of prepared foods representing dietary intake.
“Although salt added during food preparation has decreased over time, total sodium intake has not. These findings update studies using different methodologies in the 1990s and 2002, and confirm that simply weighing dietary salt intake underestimates sodium consumption in China,” said Wu.
“China’s diet is changing and refrigeration is replacing salt for food preservation. High sodium intake persists due to addition of salt and other seasonings during food preparation, and increasing consumption of processed food. Further efforts are needed to limit salt/sodium intake, and regular monitoring is needed to assess progress.”
The article can be found at: Wu et al. (2016) Salt and Sodium Intake in China.
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Source: The Journal of the American Medical Association; Photo: Shutterstock.
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