Sodium intake among adolescents who eat inside and outside the home. Campinas-Brazil

Abstract

Abstract Background Excessive sodium consumption (>2g/day) is one of the risk factors for the development of cardiovascular diseases, which impact the world's public health systems. Rapid urbanization, busy life, the high availability of ultra-processed foods and the short time for meals, especially inside the home, are factors that interfere in the population's food choices. Objective To estimate sodium intake according to the place of meal consumption and its association with demographic, socioeconomic and salt-related variables. Methods Cross-sectional population-based study, carried out with 901 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years, who answered the Food Consumption and Nutritional Status Survey, ISACamp-Nutri 2015. The mean sodium intake was estimated by the 24-hour recall and the association with the independent variables, using linear regression. Results Sodium consumption among adolescents was 3.52 g/day (95% CI 3.42-3.63). Those who consumed at least one meal away from home had an excess of 0.19 g/day (P = 0.012) of sodium, which corresponded to a 6.1% increase compared to adolescents who had eaten exclusively at home. Of the total meals eaten by adolescents, 15.9% are taken outside the home, with 6.6% eating at school and 9.3% in different places. There was a significant increase in sodium consumption among adolescents who had breakfast CR = 0.16g (p = 0.032), afternoon snack CR = 0.09g (p = 0.002) and dinner CR = 0.30g (p = 0.029) outside the home. Conclusions sodium consumption by adolescents exceeded the WHO recommendation. Eating at least one meal away from home was associated with a higher sodium intake among these individuals. Regulatory measures in the food industry and strategies for food and nutrition education are relevant to reduce sodium consumption in this age group. Key messages High sodium consumption among adolescents, exceeding WHO recommendations. Eating outside the home was associated with a higher sodium intake.