TABLE 3. Top 10 food category contributors (%)* to sodium and potassium intake, by blood pressure status and weight status among adults aged ≥19 years – United States, 2015–2016.
| Food category and dietary contribution† | Proportion (%) in diet, total | Proportion (%) in diet, by blood pressure status§ |
Proportion (%) in diet, by weight status¶ |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal blood pressure | Elevated blood pressure | Stage I or II hypertension | Normal weight and underweight | Overweight | Obesity | ||
| (N = 5,002) | (n = 1,713) | (n = 667) | (n = 2,546) | (n = 1,344) | (n = 1,596) | (n = 2,015) | |
| Sodium** | |||||||
| 1. Deli meat sandwiches | 6.5 | 6.8 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 5.3 | 7.0 | 6.8 |
| 2. Burritos and tacos | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 4.0 | 5.8 | 6.4 |
| 3. Pizza | 4.6 | 5.3 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 5.1 |
| 4. Soups | 4.3 | 4.6 | 3.5 | 4.3 | 5.5 | 3.9 | 3.8 |
| 5. Poultry (excluding nuggets and tenders) | 3.9 | 4.1 | 5.1 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| 6. Savory snacks (e.g., chips, crackers, popcorn) | 3.3 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| 7. Vegetables (excluding white potatoes) | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 2.9 |
| 8. Pasta mixed dishes (excluding macaroni and cheese) | 2.9 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 2.7 |
| 9. Eggs and omelets | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 2.4 |
| 10. Burgers | 2.7 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
| Total contribution of top 10 food categories | 39.7 | 41.1 | 38.2 | 39.0 | 39.6 | 40.2 | 39.5 |
| Mean daily sodium intake (mg) (SE) | 3,545 (42) | 3,573 (61) | 3,699 (61) | 3,472 (66) | 3,528 (58) | 3,477 (72) | 3,614 (86) |
| Mean daily sodium density (mg/1,000 kcal) (SE) | 1,718 (14) | 1,726 (22) | 1,710 (38) | 1,715 (19) | 1729 (28) | 1,671 (20) | 1,750 (27) |
| Potassium†† | |||||||
| 1. Vegetables (excluding white potatoes) | 6.8 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 6.1 |
| 2. Coffee | 6.3 | 5.6 | 7.0 | 6.7 | 5.8 | 6.6 | 6.4 |
| 3. Fruit | 6.2 | 6.6 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 5.3 |
| 4. Milk, unflavored | 4.9 | 4.4 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.7 | 4.9 | 4.5 |
| 5. Mashed, baked or boiled white potatoes | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.9 |
| 6. Deli meat sandwiches | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 3.4 |
| 7. Savory snacks (e.g., chips, crackers, popcorn) | 3.1 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.1 |
| 8. Poultry (excluding nuggets and tenders) | 3.1 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 2.9 |
| 9. Burritos and tacos | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 3.6 |
| 10. 100% fruit juice | 2.9 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 2.6 |
| Total contribution of top 10 food categories | 42.9 | 42.7 | 43.8 | 42.8 | 43.6 | 43.4 | 41.8 |
| Mean daily potassium intake (mg) (SE) | 2,636 (39) | 2,643 (57) | 2,719 (67) | 2,603 (43) | 2,694 (57) | 2,656 (66) | 2,566 (45) |
| Mean daily potassium density (mg/1,000 kcal) (SE) | 1,308 (14) | 1,308 (22) | 1,280 (20) | 1,317 (17) | 1,342 (24) | 1,315 (20) | 1,274 (16) |
| Mean daily energy intake (kcal) (SE) | 2,108 (21) | 2,114 (23) | 2,197 (45) | 2,075 (33) | 2,099 (32) | 2,109 (41) | 2,113 (27) |
Abbreviations: BMI = body mass index; BP = blood pressure; 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.
§ Blood pressure was defined as normal (<120/80 mmHg), elevated (systolic BP = 120–129 and diastolic BP <80 mmHg), or stage I or II hypertension (self–reported antihypertensive medication use or systolic BP ≥130, diastolic BP ≥80 mmHg) according to the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Hypertension Guideline.
¶ BMI (kg/m2) was used to classify adults: normal weight (BMI = 18.5–24.9), overweight (BMI = 25.0–29.9), or obesity (BMI ≥30).
** The following food categories were not ranked as top 10 sodium food sources among respondents aged ≥19 years but contributed ≥3% to sodium intake among blood pressure and weight status subgroups. Elevated BP: other meat sandwiches (3.6%), poultry sandwiches (3.0%). Stage I or II hypertension: meat mixed dishes (3.1%).
†† The following food categories were not ranked as top 10 potassium food sources among respondents aged ≥19 years but contributed ≥3% to potassium intake among blood pressure and weight status subgroups. Obese: fried white potatoes (3.5%).