High sodium intake and low potassium intake in China

A study by Shufa Du et al has found that sodium intakes remain high, and potassium intakes remain low in China. Authors utilised data on 29,926 adults from the China Health and Nutrition Survey and compared data from 1991 and 2015. Intakes of sodium and potassium from these surveys are estimated from 24-hr diet recalls. They found that sodium intake decreased between 1991 and 2015 (6.3 g/d to 4.1 g/d), yet this is still higher than sodium recommendations. Potassium intake remained low, 1.7 g/d in 1991 and 1.5 g/d in 2015. They identified that the main source of sodium in the diet was from salt added during cooking in both years. Authors concluded that strategies to reduce sodium intake and increase potassium intake in China are urgently needed. Read more here.