Effects of reducing food-away-from-home consumption on sodium intake

Despite the relationship between sodium intake and the occurrence of high blood pressure, the sodium intake of Korean people has reached approximately 1.83 times the 2,000 mg level recommended by the World Health Organization. This high sodium intake may be caused by increased food-away-from-home (FAFH) consumption. Thus, this study aimed to examine the relationship between the FAFH consumption and sodium intake. We used data from the sixth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2014–2015 and Matching Frontier Method was applied to control the selection bias. The results suggest that people who consume FAFH less than four times per month would take in approximately 1,102 mg sodium less per day than people who consume FAFH at least five times per week.