Unsavory choices: The high sodium density of US chain restaurant foods

作者：Wu Helen W^*

来源：Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2015, 40: 103-105.

DOI：10.1016/j.jfca.2014.12.018

• Sodium
• Sodium density
• Table salt
• Restaurants
• Menu
• Fast food
• Food industry
• Food composition
• Food analysis

The restaurant industry is a major component of the food environment, but the sodium density (mg sodium per 1000 kcal) of menu offerings is not well documented. This cross-sectional study reports on the sodium density of 30,073 menu items from 237 unique U.S. chain restaurant brands in 2010. Sodium density was evaluated with descriptive statistics and stratified by restaurant characteristics and menu type (regular or children's). Sodium density varies substantially based on restaurant type, cuisine, and item type. Sodium density is very high overall, an average of 2196 mg sodium/1000 kcal across all regular menu items and 1865 across all children's menu items. A tremendous gap exists between the sodium density of most restaurant foods and what consumers must eat to stay within recommended daily limits. The restaurant industry must reduce the default amount of salt used in order to help our taste buds readjust to healthier sodium levels.

• 出版日期2015-6