The Hobart Salt Study 1995: Few meet national sodium intake target

Objective: To estimate 24-hour sodium and potassium excretion in an urban Australian population. Design and setting: Cross-sectional survey of an urban population in Hobart, Tasmania, in 1995. Participants: Systematic sample (87 men, 107 women) from the Commonwealth Electoral Poll of people aged 18-70 years on 30 June 1995 whose residential address was within 10 km of the Hobart General Post Office. Main outcome measure: Conformity with the national target for sodium intake for the year 2000 of less than or equal to 100 mmol/day. Results: The target was met by 6% of men and 36% of women. This difference between the sexes was significant (P<0.001), while differences between age groups and socioeconomic levels were not significant. Conclusion: Our findings confirm the low level of conformity with the national sodium target reported by the handful of Australian studies over the past decade. Given the major community costs associated with hypertension, our results highlight the need for effective and properly monitored action to reduce sodium intakes.