Search

In Morocco, the high consumption of dietary sodium increases the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and predisposes to cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and hypertension. This study aims to assess the dietary sodium and potassium intake in a random sample of Moroccan adult students as a benchmark informing a national strategy for reducing salt intake. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 103 adults aged 18 to 25 years recruited in Casablanca. The 24-hour urinary excretion was used to measure the sodium and potassium. Creatinine excretion was used to validate the completeness of the urine collections. The average urinary sodium excretion was 3125.77 ± 121.99 mg/day, 13.5% consumed less than 5g/day, while 69% consumed more than 5 g/day of which 17.5% consumed more than twice the recommendations. For the average urinary potassium excretion was 1826.1 ± 61.2 mg/day, and more than 98% of the students consumed less than the adequate intake. The results of this pilot study show that the population studied has a high sodium intake and low potassium intake which does not meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, which requires implementing an action plan to reduce salt.

Introduction Iodine deficiency is still a matter of public health concern despite salt fortification and especially with global recommendations to lower salt intake, this is mainly due to dietary habits. University students have a diet based on street food high in sodium and low in other micronutrients (i.e. iodine and potassium). In this study, we aim to measure sodium and iodine levels in university students to assess their risk of developing complications later in life. Methodology A sample of 120 students aged between 18 and 25 years old was recruited and asked to collect their 24-hours urine samples in special containers containing. Samples were stored then analyzed for sodium, potassium, iodine and creatinine levels. Results The average urinary excretion of sodium was 3066.8 ± 1196.0 mg/day. Overall, 72.6% of participants consume more than 2 g/day of sodium. Average potassium intake is 1805.9 ± 559.4 mg/day, and all participants consume less than the adequate amount. Daily urinary excretion of iodine is 135.6 ± 88.9 mg/day, and 69.2% of participants consume less than the recommended amount. Sodium, potassium and iodine intakes were higher in male participants (P-values = 0.008; 0.044 and 0.003, respectively). The lowest average iodine intake was observed in underweight participants (119.4 ± 31.4) with 87.5% of underweight participants and 80% of female participants below the recommended intake. Conclusion Sodium intake is high while iodine intake is low in this studied population, especially in women.