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Top Food Contributors of Sodium Intake in US Children and Adults Aged 1 Year or Older, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, August 2021–August 2023

RESEARCH BRIEF — Volume 23 — August 13, 2026

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Top food category contributors to sodium intake among those aged 1 year or older, by age and sex, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, August 2021–August 2023. Gray shading indicates a relative SE ≥0.30; estimate is therefore statistically unreliable.
Overall rank Food category Proportion of sodium intake
Overall Age, y Sex
1–4 5–11 12–17 18–39 40–59 ≥60 Female Male
Top 25 contributors to sodium intake overall
1 Deli meat sandwiches 5.0 1.9 4.1 5.7 4.7 5.8 5.0 4.8 5.2
2 Pizza 4.4 5.1 6.6 6.0 4.7 4.3 2.8 4.0 4.8
3 Savory snacks (eg, chips, crackers, popcorn) 4.4 7.7 8.3 5.7 3.7 3.8 4.1 5.0 4.0
4 Soups 4.4 3.7 3.7 4.4 4.1 4.5 4.9 4.8 4.0
5 Poultry (excluding nuggets and tenders) 3.8 2.0 3.2 2.6 4.7 3.6 3.4 3.3 4.2
6 Pasta mixed dishes, excludes macaroni and cheese 3.8 4.0 3.2 4.5 4.3 3.7 3.1 3.8 3.7
7 Breads, rolls, and buns 3.1 2.3 2.4 3.3 2.6 3.2 3.8 3.3 2.8
8 Cheese (including cottage cheese and ricotta) 2.7 3.6 3.1 2.2 2.6 2.5 3.1 3.1 2.4
9 Vegetables (excluding white potatoes) 2.4 1.8 1.6 1.1 2.1 2.4 3.5 2.8 2.0
10 Burritos and tacos 2.4 0.8 1.8 3.1 3.1 2.2 1.6 2.0 2.6
11 Cookies, brownies, cakes 2.4 2.5 2.9 2.5 1.8 2.1 3.2 2.5 2.2
12 Burgers 2.4 0.8 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.5 1.8 1.9 2.7
13 Meat mixed dishes 2.3 1.3 0.7 1.2 2.0 2.6 3.6 2.2 2.4
14 Tomato-based condiments 2.3 2.3 2.4 2.0 2.7 2.2 1.8 2.1 2.5
15 Poultry mixed dishes 2.3 2.1 1.1 1.5 2.3 3.1 2.0 2.3 2.3
16 Eggs and omelets 2.1 2.3 1.3 1.4 2.2 2.1 2.6 2.2 2.0
17 Egg sandwiches 2.0 0.4 1.2 2.0 2.0 2.0 2.1 1.6 2.3
18 Cold cuts and cured meats (excluding sandwiches) 1.9 4.8 1.7 0.9 2.0 1.9 1.9 1.8 2.0
19 Chicken nuggets and tenders 1.9 5.3 4.0 3.6 2.1 0.9 0.9 1.9 1.9
20 Bacon, frankfurters, sausages (excluding sandwiches) 1.8 3.2 2.2 1.4 1.6 1.7 2.2 1.8 1.9
21 Rice 1.8 2.1 2.2 2.1 1.9 2.1 1.0 1.5 2.0
22 Mashed, baked, or boiled white potatoes 1.6 0.4 0.6 1.6 1.5 1.4 2.6 1.7 1.6
23 Salad dressings and vegetable oils 1.6 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.6 1.5 2.1 1.8 1.4
24 Fried white potatoes 1.5 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.4 1.6
25 Dips, gravies, other sauces 1.5 3.0 0.8 1.2 1.7 1.7 1.0 1.8 1.2
Among the top 10 contributors to sodium intake within a subgroup (not a top 25 contributor overall)
29 Ready-to-eat cereals 1.3 1.9 2.5 2.6 0.9 0.9 1.4 1.4 1.4
34 Milk, unflavored 1.1 4.6 2.0 1.7 0.6 0.9 1.2 1.3 1.1
38 Pancakes, waffles, French toast 1.0 2.8 2.9 1.5 0.7 0.5 0.8 0.8 1.3
Sodium intake
Daily sodium intake, mean (SE), mg 3,103 (30) 2,071 (75) 2,637 (50) 3,110 (107) 3,417 (66) 3,285 (52) 2,874 (41) 2,698 (36) 3,521 (40)
Daily sodium density intake, mean (SE), mg/1,000 kcal 1587 (10) 1,402 (27) 1,451 (15) 1,552 (23) 1,676 (10) 1,612 (24) 1,547 (15) 1,573 (18) 1,601 (10)

Figure 1. Top food category contributors to sodium intake among those aged 1 year or older, by age and sex, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, August 2021–August 2023. Gray shading indicates a relative SE ≥0.30; estimate is therefore statistically unreliable.

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Top food category contributors to sodium intake among those aged 1 year or older, by race and ethnicity, overweight or obesity, and hypertension. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, August 2021–August 2023. Gray shading indicates a relative SE ≥0.30; estimate is therefore statistically unreliable.
Overall rank Food category Proportion of sodium intake
Overall Race and ethnicity Overweight or obesity Hypertension
Hispanic Non-Hispanic Asian Non-Hispanic Black Non-Hispanic White Non-Hispanic Other No Yes No Yes
1 Deli meat sandwiches 5.0 4.9 1.3 3.9 5.7 4.0 4.6 5.3 4.6 5.7
2 Pizza 4.4 3.9 4.2 5.7 4.4 4.1 4.8 4.3 3.8 4.3
3 Savory snacks (eg, chips, crackers, popcorn) 4.4and 3.3 3.0 4.3 4.9 5.1 5.1 4.1 3.9 3.9
4 Soups 4.4 5.5 8.7 4.6 3.6 3.8 4.6 4.2 4.5 4.3
5 Poultry (excluding nuggets and tenders) 3.8 4.2 3.6 7.3 3.0 4.1 3.8 3.8 4.3 3.7
6 Pasta mixed dishes, excludes macaroni and cheese 3.8 2.7 4.1 3.7 4.1 3.9 4.1 3.6 4.1 3.5
7 Breads, rolls, and buns 3.1 2.4 4.0 2.5 3.3 2.9 3.2 3.0 2.9 3.3
8 Cheese (including cottage cheese and ricotta) 2.7 2.1 1.1 1.5 3.2 3.1 2.4 2.9 2.6 2.8
9 Vegetables (excluding white potatoes) 2.4 1.8 3.5 2.6 2.4 1.9 2.5 2.3 2.5 2.7
10 Burritos and tacos 2.4 4.5 0.9 2.0 2.0 1.9 2.4 2.4 2.8 2.0
11 Cookies, brownies, cakes 2.4 2.1 1.4 2.1 2.5 3.0 2.5 2.2 2.0 2.6
12 Burgers 2.4 2.3 1.0 2.5 2.5 2.3 2.0 2.5 2.4 2.3
13 Meat mixed dishes 2.3 2.0 1.9 2.1 2.5 2.2 2.5 2.2 2.3 3.0
14 Tomato-based condiment 2.3 3.1 1.2 2.7 2.1 2.2 1.8 2.6 2.6 2.1
15 Poultry mixed dishes 2.3 1.6 2.6 1.7 2.5 2.7 1.7 2.6 2.7 2.2
16 Eggs and omelets 2.1 2.4 1.0 2.1 2.2 1.7 1.9 2.2 2.3 2.2
17 Egg sandwiches 2.0 1.6 1.3 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.9 2.3
18 Cold cuts and cured meats (excluding sandwiches) 1.9 1.5 1.1 0.7 2.3 2.3 2.0 1.9 1.6 2.2
19 Chicken nuggets and tenders 1.9 2.4 1.6 2.5 1.7 1.4 2.1 1.7 1.4 1.3
20 Bacon, frankfurters, sausages (excluding sandwiches) 1.8 1.2 0.7 3.5 1.8 2.1 1.7 1.9 1.5 2.1
21 Rice 1.8 2.6 7.6 1.8 0.9 2.5 2.3 1.6 2.0 1.4
22 Mashed, baked, or boiled white potatoes 1.6 1.0 0.8 1.7 1.9 1.6 1.5 1.8 1.6 2.0
23 Salad dressings and vegetable oils 1.6 1.0 0.8 1.5 1.9 1.1 1.6 1.6 1.8 1.7
24 Fried white potatoes 1.5 1.4 0.6 1.9 1.5 1.7 1.3 1.6 1.6 1.5
25 Dips, gravies, other sauces 1.5 2.3 1.0 0.8 1.4 1.7 1.1 1.7 1.5 1.5
Among the top 10 contributors to sodium intake within a subgroup (not among the top 25 contributors overall)
26 Poultry sandwiches 1.4 1.0 0.9 1.4 1.5 2.7 0.9 1.7 1.6 1.3
27 Quesadillas, tamales, fajitas, and enchiladas 1.4 3.7 0.9 0.5 1.0 0.7 1.2 1.5 1.8 1.0
32 Beans, peas, legumes 1.2 2.0 2.7 1.0 0.9 0.5 1.2 1.1 1.3 1.0
35 Stir-fry and soy-based sauce mixtures 1.1 1.1 2.0 0.5 1.1 0.7 0.7 1.3 1.2 1.1
37 Rice mixed dishes 1.0 1.6 5.3 0.9 0.5 0.6 0.8 1.3 1.4 0.7
Sodium intake
Daily sodium intake, mean (SE), mg 3,103 (30) 2,921 (96) 3,438 (195) 2,916 (62) 3,174 (39) 3,024 (98) 3,065 (41) 3,158 (45) 3,224 (37) 3,184 (50)
Daily sodium density, mean (SE), mg/1,000 kcal 1587 (10) 1,590 (34) 1,713 (47) 1,610 (17) 1,574 (13) 1,542 (24) 1,531 (13) 1,620 (10) 1,618 (21) 1,611 (15)

Figure 2. Top food category contributors to sodium intake among those aged 1 year or older, by race and ethnicity, overweight or obesity, and hypertension. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, August 2021–August 2023. Gray shading indicates a relative SE ≥0.30; estimate is therefore statistically unreliable.

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