Understanding how salt consumption patterns vary across U.S. cultural groups
Most U.S. adults eat too much salt—which increases the risk of high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke—but consumption patterns tend to vary across racial and ethnic groups, according to a study published May 28 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
First author Jessica Cheng, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Epidemiology at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues analyzed data from a national health survey conducted from 2017-2020. They found that the top sources of sodium for U.S. adults across all racial and ethnic groups were pizza, soup, and chicken.
Among the additional findings: Black adults were the most likely to have attempted to reduce their salt intake and to have received a doctor’s recommendation to do so, compared to white, Asian American, and Mexican American adults. Asian American adults were most likely to add salt while cooking, but the least likely to add salt to their food at the table.
Cheng noted in an American Heart Association release that previous research had likely overestimated sodium consumption by Asian Americans. These analyses had assumed that Asian Americans add salt when cooking rice, which is not always the case, Cheng said.
The new study’s findings suggest a need for culturally tailored advice about reducing sodium consumption, according to the researchers.
Lowering sodium consumption doesn’t have to be difficult, Cheng said in an American Heart Association article. Her recommendations included using a salt substitute and eating potassium-rich foods that help reduce blood pressure. “You don’t have to avoid pizza completely; eat it less often or try making it at home with low-sodium cheese, and dough and tomato sauce you make from scratch,” she said.
Read the American Heart Association article: Too much salt? How sodium consumption varies by culture
Read the American Heart Association release: Understanding cultural differences in salt usage may help lower consumption
