TABLE 1. Top 10 food category contributors (%)* to sodium and potassium intake, by age group — United States, 2015–2016.
| Food category and dietary contribution† | Proportion (%) in diet, by age group (yrs) |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All age groups (≥1 year) | 1–3 | 4–8 | 9–13 | 14–18 | 19–30 | 31–50 | 51–70 | ≥71 | |
| (N = 7,976) | (n = 561) | (n = 828) | (n = 829) | (n = 756) | (n = 963) | (n = 1,617) | (n = 1,669) | (n = 753) | |
| Sodium§ | |||||||||
| 1. Deli meat sandwiches | 6.3 | 2.7 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 5.9 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| 2. Pizza | 5.4 | 5.1 | 6.9 | 7.7 | 10.7 | 6.8 | 4.5 | 3.8 | —¶ |
| 3. Burritos and tacos | 5.3 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 7.1 | 4.0 | —¶ |
| 4. Soups | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 5.2 |
| 5. Savory snacks (e.g., chips, crackers, popcorn) | 3.8 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 5.9 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
| 6. Poultry (excl. nuggets and tenders) | 3.7 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 5.2 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 2.4 |
| 7. Pasta mixed dishes (excluding macaroni and cheese) | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 3.6 |
| 8. Vegetables (excluding white potatoes) | 2.9 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| 9. Burgers | 2.8 | —¶ | 2.7 | 2.5 | 4.2 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 1.4 |
| 10. Eggs and omelets | 2.7 | 3.7 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 3.2 |
| Total contribution of top 10 food categories | 40.0 | 35.6 | 39.6 | 39.4 | 42.9 | 42.3 | 40.8 | 37.6 | 29.1 |
| Mean daily sodium intake (mg) (SE) | 3,397 (34) | 1,929 (58) | 2,655 (43) | 3,260 (62) | 3,423 (90) | 3,861 (98) | 3,722 (68) | 3,431 (46) | 2,861 (88) |
| Mean daily sodium density (mg/1,000 kcal) (SE) | 1,692 (12) | 1,465 (25) | 1,549 (14) | 1,663 (24) | 1,689 (25) | 1742 (32) | 1,726 (22) | 1,723 (20) | 1,653 (32) |
| Potassium** | |||||||||
| 1. Milk, unflavored | 6.4 | 24.8 | 13.1 | 10.0 | 8.9 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 7.1 |
| 2. Fruit | 6.4 | 10.3 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 5.9 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 6.6 | 8.5 |
| 3. Vegetables (excluding white potatoes) | 6.1 | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 7.6 | 7.5 |
| 4. Coffee | 5.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | —¶ | 0.9 | 3.7 | 5.6 | 8.1 | 7.1 |
| 5. Savory snacks (e.g., chips, crackers, popcorn) | 3.5 | 3.8 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
| 6. 100% fruit juice | 3.3 | 7.7 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 3.5 |
| 7. Mashed, baked, or boiled white potatoes | 3.2 | 1.9 | 1.8 | 3.2 | 2.8 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.3 |
| 8. Deli meat sandwiches | 3.1 | 1.1 | 3.0 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 2.8 |
| 9. Poultry (excluding nuggets and tenders) | 2.9 | 2.2 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 1.7 |
| 10. Burritos and tacos | 2.9 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 2.2 | —¶ |
| Total contribution of top 10 food categories | 42.9 | 56.1 | 44.1 | 40.5 | 39.5 | 40.5 | 42.0 | 43.4 | 44.8 |
| Mean daily potassium intake (mg) (SE) | 2,497 (35) | 1,797 (35) | 1,968 (52) | 2,168 (52) | 2,235 (60) | 2,581 (62) | 2,675 (72) | 2,708 (41) | 2,401 (77) |
| Mean daily potassium density (mg/1,000 kcal) (SE) | 1,276 (12) | 1,395 (19) | 1,175 (21) | 1,113 (15) | 1,127 (18) | 1,190 (20) | 1,266 (16) | 1,387 (18) | 1,401 (31) |
| Mean daily energy intake (kcal) (SE) | 2,041 (18) | 1,321 (29) | 1,714 (27) | 1,995 (38) | 2,062 (54) | 2,262 (47) | 2,211 (35) | 2,039 (24) | 1,760 (44) |
Abbreviations: kcal = kilocalories; SE = standard error.
* The population proportion (%) is defined as the sum of the amount of sodium or potassium consumed from each specific food category for all participants in the designated group, divided by the sum of the nutrient consumed from all food categories for all participants in the designated group, multiplied by 100. All estimates use one 24-hour dietary recall, reflect the complex sampling design, and use the day one dietary sample weights to account for nonresponse, weekend/weekday recalls, and oversampling.
† This analysis used 87 food categories, which were adapted from What We Eat in America (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes/wweia.htm). Food categories are ranked in descending order by population proportion among the total population aged ≥1 year.
§ The following food categories were not ranked among the top 10 sodium food sources overall but contributed ≥3% to sodium intake within the specified age subgroups: 1–3 years: unflavored milk (7.5%), cheese (3.7%), bacon, frankfurters, sausages (3.3%), chicken patties, nuggets, and tenders (3.0%); 4–8 years: bacon, frankfurters, sausages (3.3%), hot dog and sausage sandwiches (3.3%), unflavored milk (3.1%), cookies, brownies, cakes (3.1%), ready to eat cereals (3.0%); 14–18 years: chicken patties, nuggets, and tenders (3.2%); 51–70 years: meat mixed dishes (3.4%), breads, rolls, buns (3.0%); ≥71 years: breads, rolls, buns (4.0%), cookies, brownies, cakes (4.0%).
¶ Estimates are statistically unreliable, relative SE ≥30%.
** The following food categories were not ranked among the top 10 potassium food sources overall but contributed ≥3% of potassium intake within the specified age subgroups: 4–8 years: flavored milk (7.0%), pizza (3.4%); 9–13 years: flavored milk (4.2%), pizza (4.0%), pasta mixed dishes (excluding macaroni and cheese (3.0%); 14–18 years: pizza (5.7%), fried white potatoes (3.5%), burgers (3.0%); 19–30 years: fried white potatoes (3.6%), pizza (3.2%); 31–50 years: fried white potatoes (3.2%), alcoholic beverages (3.1%).