Relationship of sodium intake with obesity among Iranian children and adolescents

Background: emerging evidence suggests a relationship between sodium (na) intake and obesity risk. the aim of this study was to investigate the link between 24-h urinary na excretion and adiposity measures in a sample of iranian children and adolescents. methods: this cross-sectional study was performed among 374 healthy individuals aged 11-18 years old. random cluster sampling method was used to select the participants from 4 districts in isfahan,iran. na excretion was estimated using a 24-h urinary sample. creatinine (cr) level was used to confirm the completeness of samples. anthropometric measures including weight,height and waist circumference (wc) were obtained based on standard protocols. results: the odds ratio (or) for overweight/obesity in subjects with the highest tertile of na excretion compared with the lowest tertile was 8.01 [95% confidence interval (ci) 4.20-15.3] in crude model and 8.33 (95% ci 4.14-16.8) after adjusting for potential confounders. the association was independent of intake of energy and sugar-sweetened beverages (ssbs). the or for abdominal obesity in the highest tertile of na excretion compared with the lowest tertile was 9.12 (95% ci 4.78- 17.4) in crude model and 9.75 (95% ci 4.88-19.5) after controlling for potential confounders. the association was independent of energy intake or ssbs consumption. conclusion: our study showed a positive association between na excretion and obesity among children and adolescents. further investigation through longitudinal studies using a more representative sample of children and adolescents is suggested to determine whether this is a causal relationship. © 2017,isfahan university of medical sciences. all rights reserved.