The habitual intake of sodium for populations across Europe is high and exceeds the amounts required for normal function.
As part of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1), which was conducted between 2008 and 2011, sodium excretion in casual urine samples was used as a biomarker to measure sodium intake. DEGS1 observed that the median daily sodium intake of women (3.4 g) as well as men (4.0 g) exceeds the levels recommended by German and international organisations (67).
Surveys have found that the average dietary salt intake in the U.S. is 7.8–11.8 g/day for adult men and 5.8–7.8 g/day for adult women (5). These figures may be underestimations since they did not include salt added to food at the table.
Authored by Dr Peter Engel in 2010, reviewed and revised by Dr. Volker Elste on 20.09.2017.
