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Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report logoLink to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
. 2013 Dec 20;62(50):1021–1025.

Trends in the Prevalence of Excess Dietary Sodium Intake — United States, 2003–2010

Alicia Carriquiry 1, Alanna J Moshfegh 2, Lois C Steinfeldt 2, Mary E Cogswell 3, Fleetwood Loustalot 3, Zefeng Zhang 3, Quanhe Yang 3, Niu Tian 4,
PMCID: PMC4584577  PMID: 24352065

Excess sodium intake can lead to hypertension, the primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of U.S. deaths (1). Monitoring the prevalence of excess sodium intake is essential to provide the evidence for public health interventions and to track reductions in sodium intake, yet few reports exist. Reducing population sodium intake is a national priority, and monitoring the amount of sodium consumed adjusted for energy intake (sodium density or sodium in milligrams divided by calories) has been recommended because a higher sodium intake is generally accompanied by a higher calorie intake from food (2). To describe the most recent estimates and trends in excess sodium intake, CDC analyzed 2003–2010 data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) of 34,916 participants aged ≥1 year. During 2007–2010, the prevalence of excess sodium intake, defined as intake above the Institute of Medicine tolerable upper intake levels (1,500 mg/day at ages 1–3 years; 1,900 mg at 4–8 years; 2,200 mg at 9–13 years; and 2,300 mg at ≥14 years) (3), ranged by age group from 79.1% to 95.4%. Small declines in the prevalence of excess sodium intake occurred during 2003–2010 in children aged 1–13 years, but not in adolescents or adults. Mean sodium intake declined slightly among persons aged ≥1 year, whereas sodium density did not. Despite slight declines in some groups, the majority of the U.S. population aged 1 year consumes excess sodium.

NHANES is a nationally representative, multistage survey of the noninstitutionalized U.S. civilian population. Certain populations are oversampled to allow for reliable estimates within subgroups.* During NHANES 2003–2010, a total of 49,731 participants aged ≥1 year (including those currently breastfed) were screened. Participants who completed an initial in-person dietary recall in a mobile examination center were asked to complete a second 24-hour dietary recall by telephone 3–10 days later. After those with missing or incomplete dietary recall data were excluded, the final analytic sample was 34,916, for a response rate of 70.3% among those screened. The 24-hour dietary recall was collected by trained interviewers using the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) automated multiple-pass method by proxy for those aged 1–5 years, by participants with proxy assistance for those aged 6–11 years, and directly by participants aged ≥12 years. The nutrient values of sodium were assigned to foods and beverages using the USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies corresponding with each NHANES 2-year cycle.§ Sodium intake for each respondent on each recall day was estimated by summing the sodium consumed from each food and beverage during the previous 24 hours (excluding supplements, antacids, and salt added at the table). To evaluate trends, from 2003–2010, estimates of sodium in foods did not include salt adjustments for participants whose household used salt in cooking occasionally or less often. For children consuming human milk, the sodium content was estimated and added to sodium from other foods and beverages.**

Up to two 24-hour dietary recalls were used. Data were analyzed with statistical software that fits a measurement error model.†† All estimates were based on usual sodium intake, adjusting for within person, day-to-day variability. After adjusting for the day of the week of the recall, age (years), sex, and race/ethnicity, estimates were calculated for mean usual sodium intake, sodium density, and prevalence of excess sodium intake. Jackknife replicate weights based on survey weights were used to estimate standard errors and account for the complex survey design. The differences in the prevalence of excess sodium intake were examined by z test. Using linear regression models with the usual mean intake for each 2-year phase weighted by the inverse of the variance, trends in sodium intake and sodium intake density were examined using a z test. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. No adjustment was made for multiple testing.

What is already known on this topic?

Excess sodium intake can lead to hypertension and consequent cardiovascular disease. Sodium consumption in the United States is well above national recommendations. Reports of national data on sodium consumption trends are limited.

What is added by this report?

As of 2010, >90% of U.S. adolescents and adults consume sodium in excess of recommendations, and little has changed since 2003. U.S. children have seen a slight decline in excess sodium consumption during the same period, but 80%–90% of children continue to consume excess sodium. From 2003 to 2010, a slight decrease occurred in average sodium intake, but not sodium intake per calorie.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Small reductions in sodium intake might be related to declines in average energy consumption, rather than changes in the amount of sodium per calorie in foods consumed. Given that average energy and sodium intakes have changed little over time, coupling efforts to reduce obesity with efforts to reduce the sodium content per calorie in foods might accelerate reductions in sodium consumed.

During 2007–2010, the prevalence of excess usual sodium intake ranged from 79.1% for U.S. children aged 1–3 years to 95.4% for U.S. adults aged 19–50 years (Table 1). A statistically significant 2.7–4.9 percentage point decline in excess usual sodium intake occurred from 2003–2006 to 2007–2010 among children aged 1–3, 4–8, and 9–13 years, but not among adolescents or adults. Among children aged 4–8 years, statistically significant declines occurred across all sex and race/ethnicity subgroups.

TABLE 1.

Proportion of usual sodium intake exceeding the Institute of Medicine tolerable upper intake level,* by age group, sex, and race/ethnicity — National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), United States, 2003–2010

Characteristic Upper limit (mg/day) 2003–2006 2007–2010 Percentage point change p-value


No.§ Proportion over upper intake level (%) Standard error No. Proportion over upper intake level (%) Standard error
Age 1–3 yrs 1,500 1,560 (84.0) 1.4 1,558 (79.1) 1.9 (−4.9) 0.019
 Male 784 (84.1) 2.0 809 (79.4) 2.7 (−4.7) 0.081
 Female 776 (84.3) 2.2 749 (79.7) 2.2 (−4.6) 0.071
 White, non-Hispanic 470 (84.0) 2.9 525 (80.3) 3.7 (−3.7) 0.215
 Black, non-Hispanic 407 (87.6) 3.3 297 (86.3) 3.0 (−1.3) 0.385
 Mexican-American 519 (75.7) 3.2 437 (71.2) 4.9 (−4.5) 0.222
Age 4–8 yrs 1,900 1,682 (97.3) 0.4 1,890 (92.6) 0.8 (−4.6) <0.001
 Male 815 (97.7) 0.5 995 (94.3) 1.0 (−3.4) 0.008
 Female 867 (96.9) 0.8 895 (90.5) 1.4 (−6.3) <0.001
 White, non-Hispanic 479 (96.3) 0.8 621 (90.3) 1.5 (−5.9) <0.001
 Black, non-Hispanic 519 (98.9) 0.7 402 (95.6) 1.3 (−3.3) 0.012
 Mexican-American 517 (94.2) 1.4 529 (89.3) 2.6 (−4.9) 0.045
Age 9–13 yrs 2,200 2,040 (96.9) 0.7 1,717 (94.2) 0.9 (−2.7) 0.008
 Male 999 ** ** 850 (96.8) 0.7 †† ††
 Female 1,041 (91.4) 1.6 867 (90.1) 1.7 (−1.4) 0.279
 White, non-Hispanic 516 (97.0) 0.8 544 ** ** †† ††
 Black, non-Hispanic 691 ** ** 406 ** ** †† ††
 Mexican-American 669 (95.4) 1.3 456 (84.8) 3.1 (−10.5) 0.001
Age 14–18 yrs 2,300 2,673 (94.2) 1.0 1,552 (92.3) 1.5 (−1.9) 0.145
 Male 1,353 (97.8) 0.7 818 ** ** †† ††
 Female 1,320 (84.2) 2.3 734 (80.2) 3.1 (−4.0) 0.938
 White, non-Hispanic 731 (95.7) 1.0 517 (93.4) 1.7 (−2.3) 0.123
 Black, non-Hispanic 938 (90.7) 1.8 369 ** ** †† ††
 Mexican-American 820 (94.3) 1.3 385 (90.0) 2.2 (−4.3) 0.047
Age 19–50 yrs 2,300 5,428 (95.9) 0.4 6,086 (95.4) 0.5 (−0.5) 0.200
 Male 2,528 (99.2) 0.1 2,936 (99.1) 0.2 (−0.1) 0.242
 Female 2,900 (86.6) 1.2 3,150 (84.8) 1.4 (−1.9) 0.152
 White, non-Hispanic 2,384 (97.1) 0.4 2,598 (96.4) 0.6 (−0.7) 0.170
 Black, non-Hispanic 1,310 (92.5) 1.4 1,190 (93.4) 0.8 (0.9) 0.709
 Mexican-American 1,276 (93.5) 1.0 1,270 (90.8) 1.3 (−2.8) 0.050
Age ≥51 yrs 2,300 4,062 (88.9) 1.0 4,668 (90.1) 0.8 (1.2) 0.839
 Male 2,028 (95.9) 0.6 2,341 (96.5) 0.5 (0.6) 0.782
 Female 2,034 (77.1) 1.4 2,327 (77.9) 1.4 (0.9) 0.668
 White, non-Hispanic 2,416 (91.4) 0.9 2,273 (92.8) 0.8 (1.4) 0.876
 Black, non-Hispanic 762 (79.0) 2.4 975 (82.2) 2.0 (3.2) 0.842
 Mexican-American 674 (67.7) 3.9 757 (76.3) 3.1 (8.6) 0.959
*

The upper intake level is the age-specific, tolerable upper intake level, as defined by the Institute of Medicine (2005). The proportion of usual sodium intake over the upper intake level was estimated using PC-SIDE software (Department of Statistics, Iowa State University) with jackknife replicate weights and adjusted for the day of the week of the recall, age (years), sex, and race/ethnicity. Persons missing data on incomplete first-day recall were excluded from the analysis.

Other racial/ethnic groups were not included. The sum of the sample size of non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Mexican-American is not equal to the total sample size.

§

Sample sizes unweighted.

p<0.05, when trends of proportion of usual sodium intake over the upper intake level were examined using the z test.

**

Data statistically unreliable; relative standard error ≥0.3.

††

Not applicable.

Mean usual sodium intake among the U.S. population aged ≥1 year decreased slightly from 2003–2004 to 2009–2010 (3,518 mg versus 3,424 mg; p-value for trend = 0.037). The U.S. population aged ≥1 year consumed, on average, approximately 1,700 mg sodium per 1,000 kcal during 2009–2010, with no significant trend over time compared with previous investigation years (Table 2). Across age groups, mean usual sodium density did not change significantly over time, with the exception of youths aged 14–18 years, for whom sodium density increased slightly. Within age groups, mean usual sodium density slightly increased among males aged 4–8 years and females aged 14–18 years and slightly declined among non-Hispanic whites aged ≥51 years.

TABLE 2.

Mean usual sodium density* (mg/1,000 kcal), by age group, sex, and race/ethnicity — National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), United States, 2003–2010

Characteristic 2003–2004 2005–2006 2007–2008 2009–2010 Changes per cycle p-value for trend




No.§ Mean Standard error No. Mean Standard error No. Mean Standard error No. Mean Standard error
Overall 8,579 1,661 10 8,866 1,693 14 8,473 1,697 12 8,998 1,689 10 9 0.248
 Male 4,192 1,653 9 4,315 1,666 14 4,266 1,695 15 4,483 1,690 14 14 0.054
 Female 4,387 1,669 17 4,551 1,719 17 4,207 1,698 16 4,515 1,688 13 2 0.879
 White, non-Hispanic 3,541 1,679 10 3,455 1,710 14 3,367 1,698 11 3,711 1,692 10 4 0.560
 Black, non-Hispanic 2,284 1,617 26 2,343 1,637 14 1,939 1,664 21 1,700 1,632 17 5 0.652
 Mexican-American 2,123 1,548 15 2,352 1,569 16 1,773 1,582 16 2,061 1,581 28 13 0.063
Age 1–3 yrs 740 1,431 21 820 1,458 34 765 1,429 23 793 1,427 15 −3 0.589
 Male 363 1,404 32 421 1,472 46 399 1,392 34 410 1,419 25 0 0.993
 Female 377 1,457 31 399 1,433 20 366 1,463 27 383 1,433 22 −3 0.727
 White, non-Hispanic 226 1,435 25 244 1,472 36 246 1,399 36 279 1,434 34 −5 0.729
 Black, non-Hispanic 218 1,500 30 189 1,464 34 163 1,497 29 134 1,479 75 −3 0.840
 Mexican-American 228 1,364 49 291 1,343 31 207 1,368 46 230 1,360 47 3 0.695
Age 4–8 yrs 783 1,541 19 899 1,550 19 934 1,530 20 956 1,556 23 2 0.822
 Male 382 1,491 20 433 1,531 21 500 1,544 31 495 1,573 41 27 0.028**
 Female 401 1,594 29 466 1,567 28 434 1,518 24 461 1,541 21 −18 0.252
 White, non-Hispanic 220 1,545 31 259 1,522 28 300 1,480 26 321 1,546 37 −7 0.747
 Black, non-Hispanic 261 1,574 42 258 1,614 40 230 1,620 32 172 1,568 32 −3 0.840
 Mexican-American 224 1,434 34 293 1,491 23 250 1,524 31 279 1,487 31 3 0.695
Age 9–13 yrs 995 1,601 23 1,045 1,633 16 832 1,637 32 885 1,636 19 9 0.292
 Male 482 1,580 35 517 1,640 29 411 1,647 40 439 1,665 30 25 0.102
 Female 513 1,622 34 528 1,627 39 421 1,625 45 446 1,613 27 −3 0.269
 White, non-Hispanic 266 1,568 28 250 1,648 25 252 1,638 45 292 1,635 23 17 0.370
 Black, non-Hispanic 350 1,750 58 341 1,685 39 224 1,722 48 182 1,599 30 −44 0.140
 Mexican-American 301 1,520 45 368 1,613 27 206 1,514 64 250 1,598 38 12 0.700
Age 14–18 yrs 1,343 1,567 26 1,330 1,636 39 738 1,683 36 814 1,689 30 43 0.036**
 Male 697 1,594 33 656 1,638 50 385 1,721 38 433 1,678 37 35 0.143
 Female 646 1,535 31 674 1,625 36 353 1,644 36 381 1,698 37 54 0.036**
 White, non-Hispanic 360 1,586 33 371 1,639 48 247 1,717 47 270 1,675 38 34 0.137
 Black, non-Hispanic 488 1,542 42 450 1,531 27 195 1,594 50 174 1,609 25 27 0.137
 Mexican-American 411 1,551 31 409 1,607 28 165 1,656 70 220 1,631 58 36 0.104
Age 19–50 yrs 2,583 1,657 17 2,845 1,717 20 2,865 1,718 14 3221 1,708 11 12 0.345
 Male 1,226 1,651 21 1,302 1,687 22 1,404 1,712 15 1532 1,703 20 18 0.163
 Female 1,357 1,660 25 1,543 1,742 29 1,461 1,723 22 1689 1,712 17 10 0.527
 White, non-Hispanic 1,189 1,663 21 1,195 1,729 25 1,188 1,720 18 1410 1,709 15 11 0.432
 Black, non-Hispanic 633 1,603 50 677 1,641 30 623 1,664 31 567 1,636 22 5 0.697
 Mexican-American 560 1,578 17 716 1,598 25 598 1,602 15 672 1,601 30 9 0.113
Age ≥51 yrs 2,135 1,778 17 1,927 1,759 16 2,339 1,768 23 2,329 1,748 20 −8 0.159
 Male 1,042 1,784 25 986 1,712 24 1,167 1,768 25 1,174 1,760 36 −3 0.904
 Female 1,093 1,775 20 941 1,799 19 1,172 1,767 27 1,155 1,736 24 −15 0.290
 White, non-Hispanic 1,280 1,799 18 1,136 1,771 17 1,134 1,752 17 1,139 1,738 25 −21 0.012**
 Black, non-Hispanic 334 1,671 29 428 1,689 30 504 1,726 32 471 1,697 34 12 0.354
 Mexican-American 399 1,637 45 275 1,567 47 347 1,657 42 410 1,631 31 4 0.809
*

Sodium intake density was calculated as sodium intake divided by daily calories. Mean usual sodium intake density was estimated using PC-SIDE software (Department of Statistics, Iowa State University) with jackknife replicate weights and adjusted for the day of the week of the recall, age (years), sex, and race/ethnicity. Persons missing first-day recall data were excluded.

Other racial/ethnic groups were not included. The sum of the sample size of non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Mexican-American is not equal to the total sample size.

§

Sample sizes are unweighted.

Mean change in sodium density per 2-year cycle (mg/1,000 kcal) estimated from a linear regression model with the usual mean sodium density for each 2-year phase weighted by the inverse of the variance.

**

p<0.05, when mean usual sodium intake density was examined by using linear regression model.

Editorial Note

The findings in this report indicate that during 2007–2010, approximately eight out of 10 U.S. children aged 1–3 years and nine out of 10 U.S. residents aged ≥4 years were at potential risk for high blood pressure attributable to excess sodium intake. Although a slight decrease in the prevalence of excess usual sodium intake occurred after 2003–2006 among children aged 1–13 years, excess intake did not decrease among adolescents and adults. During 2003–2010, a slight decrease occurred in average population sodium intake, but not sodium intake per calorie. Although some variation in trends occurred among population subgroups in usual mean sodium intake and sodium density, the lack of a change in sodium consumed per calorie (approximately 1,700 mg/1,000 kcal) suggests that the small reduction in usual sodium intake might be related to declines in calorie consumption, rather than to changes in sodium density of foods.

Previous reports (4,5) included data on trends in U.S. sodium intake from the 1970s to 2003. The findings in this report update these trends, and include new data on usual excess sodium intake and sodium density. The slight declines in excess usual sodium intake among children aged 1–13 years might be partially explained by declines in energy intake among children over the same period.§§ Given an average sodium consumption of 1,700 mg/1,000 kcal/day, reducing 100 calories per day could result in a mean reduction of 170 mg of sodium per day, slightly shifting the distribution of sodium intake and lowering the percentage of those with excess intake. Among adults, the pattern of trends in sodium intake also might be explained by changes in energy intake over time. Although average energy intake declined slightly during 1999–2010 among adults aged 20–39 years, it did not change among older adults (6).

The findings in this report are subject to at least four limitations. First, NHANES data exclude military personnel and institutionalized populations such as persons who reside in long-term care or correctional facilities. Second, the response rate was 70.3%; lower response rates can result in response bias. Third, the 24-hour dietary recall underestimates mean caloric intake by an estimated 11% and sodium intake by 9%, and sodium intake excluded use of salt at the table, which accounts for nearly 5% of U.S. sodium intake (7). Finally, no adjustments for multiple comparisons were performed to determine whether differences between any pair of estimates were statistically significant.

Despite slight declines in sodium intake among some population groups, most U.S. residents aged ≥1 year consume excess sodium. Given consumption of approximately 1,700 mg of sodium per 1,000 kilocalories/day, a mean energy reduction of approximately 600 kcal/day would be required to reduce mean sodium intake by approximately 1,000 mg, to approximately 2,300 mg/day. A sodium density target of 1,000 mg/1,000 kcal was recently proposed to lower sodium intake to <2,300 mg per day (2). Given that average energy and sodium intakes have changed little over time, coupling efforts to reduce obesity with efforts to reduce the sodium content per calorie in foods might accelerate progress. Considering that 8.1% of sodium intake among U.S. children comes from school meals (8), new school food guidelines might promote progress toward achieving goals for reducing sodium consumption among children who obtain meals at school.¶¶ Other ongoing public health efforts include working with industry to gradually reduce sodium in commercially processed packaged and restaurant foods.*** Even a 400 mg reduction in mean U.S. sodium intake might save billions of health-care dollars (9).

Footnotes

*

Additional information available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm.

Additional information available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/fsrg.

§

Additional information available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/services/docs.htm?docid=12089.

Additional information available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23567248.

**

The volume of human milk was assumed to be 600 mL per day for children aged 7–11 months fed only human milk; 600 mL per day minus the volume of infant formula plus other milk for other children aged 7–11 months, 89 mL per human milk feeding for children aged 12–18 months, and 59 mL per feeding for children aged 19–36 months. Sodium, potassium, and energy concentrations in human milk were assumed to be 177 mg/L, 531 mg/L, and 75 kcal/L, respectively, based on the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference values for mature, human milk, 33.8 fluid ounces per liter.

††

PC-SIDE (Software for Intake Distribution Estimation for the Windows operating system), Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, Iowa State University. Additional information available at http://www.side.stat.iastate.edu/pc-side.php and http://www.card.iastate.edu/publications/synopsis.aspx?id=168.

§§

Additional information available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db113.htm.

¶¶

Additional information available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-01-26/html/2012-1010.htm.

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