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. 2021 Mar;29(3):587-594.
doi: 10.1002/oby.23102. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Association of Usual Sodium Intake with Obesity Among US Children and Adolescents, NHANES 2009-2016

Lixia Zhao  1   2 , Cynthia L Ogden  3 , Quanhe Yang  1 , Sandra L Jackson  1 , Catherine M Loria  4 , Deborah A Galuska  1 , Jennifer L Wiltz  1   5 , Robert Merritt  1 , Mary E Cogswell  1
Affiliations

Association of Usual Sodium Intake with Obesity Among US Children and Adolescents, NHANES 2009-2016

Lixia Zhao et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of sodium intake with obesity in US children and adolescents.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were analyzed for 9,026 children and adolescents in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2009-2016. Usual sodium intake was estimated from 24-hour dietary recalls using a measurement error model. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of sodium intake with overweight/obesity, obesity, and central obesity (waist to height ratio [WtHR] ≥ 0.5; waist circumferences (WC) ≥ age- and sex-specific 90th percentile).

Results: Mean (SE) sodium intake was 3,010 (9) and 3,404 (20) mg/d for children and adolescents, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) comparing Q4 versus Q1 (87.5th vs. 12.5th percentile of sodium intake) among children was 1.98 (95% CI: 1.19-3.28) for overweight/obesity, 2.20 (1.30-3.73) for obesity, 2.10 (1.12-3.95) for WC ≥ 90th percentile, and 1.68 (0.95-2.97) for WtHR ≥ 0.5, adjusting for demographics, energy, and sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Among adolescents, AOR was 1.81 (0.98-3.37) for overweight/obesity, 1.71 (0.82-3.56) for obesity, 1.62 (0.71-3.66) for WC ≥ 90th percentile, and 1.73 (0.85-3.50) for WtHR ≥ 0.5.

Conclusions: Sodium intake was positively associated with overweight/obesity, obesity, and central obesity among US children independent of energy and SSB intake, but the association did not reach significance among adolescents.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

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