Background/Aims: National Nutrition Survey data indicate that mostAustralian children’s sodium intakes exceed recommendations. Understandingfood sources of sodium is important to guide strategies for targetedsalt reduction. We aim to identify sodium intake and the dietarysources of sodium in Australian pre-school children.Methods: Participants included children from the Melbourne InFANTprogram with dietary data at 3.5 years of age. Intake was assessed bytelephone administered multiple pass 24 hour recall & three nonconsecutivedays of dietary data were collected.Results: Diet recalls were completed for 261 children with a mean (SD) ageof 3.6 (0.95) years. The average sodium intake was 1,505 (521) mg/d, saltequivalent 3.8 (1.33) g/day. Within this sample 85% of children exceededthe Upper Level recommendation of 1,000 mg/day. Major food sources ofsodium were cereals and cereal products (25%), including bread (17%); andmilk products (20%), including dairy milk (7%) and cheese (9%). Moderatesources were meat and poultry products (17%), including processed meats(8%), and savory sauces & condiments (4%). Ninety seven percent, 86% and55% of children consumed bread, cheese and processed meats respectivelyover the 3 days of collection.Conclusions: These findings confirm that most pre-school children areconsuming excessive amounts of sodium. Processed foods such as bread,cheese and meats are major contributors of sodium in their diets. Opportunitiesto reduce sodium in these key food groups, alongside consumeradvice should be priorities to address this excess sodium consumption inAustralian pre-school children.
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