Salt Intake is Closely Associated with Body Weight in Patients with Lifestyle-related Diseases

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess daily salt intake and associated factors in patients with lifestyle-related diseases.

Methods: The participants were 132 men and 123 women who regularly visited our center for treatment of lifestyle-related diseases. Salt intake was estimated using 24-h urine collections without adjustment for non-urinary losses.

Results: Men and women consumed an average of 13.1 and 10.2 g/day of salt per day (p<0.001), respectively. Calculation of salt intake per kg of body weight (BW) revealed that there was no difference between men and women. The correlation coefficient between salt intake and BW was higher than that between it and body mass index, body height, and standard BW. Multiple regression analyses revealed that salt intake was most closely associated with BW, followed by frequency of drinking and age. When adjusted for frequency of drinking and age, the salt intake of participants with BWs in the highest quartile was approximately 1.5 times greater than those with BWs in the lowest quartile.

Conclusion: These results suggest that restricting daily salt intake is more difficult for individuals who require a higher amount of total energy than those with lower total energy requirements.