The present study reports the Na intake of a representative sample of Spanish young and middle-aged adults aged 18–60 years (n418, 53·1 % women, selected from the capitals of fifteen provinces and the surrounding semi-urban/rural area), measured with a 24 h urinary Na excretion method. To validate the paper collection of 24 h urine, the correlation between fat-free mass determined by electrical bioimpedance (50·8 (sd11·3) kg) and that determined via urinary creatinine excretion (51·5 (sd18·8) kg) was calculated (r0·633,P < 0·001). Urinary Na excretion correlated with systolic and dyastolic blood pressure data (r0·243 and 0·153, respectively). Assuming that all urinary Na (168·0 (sd78·6) mmol/d) comes from the diet, Na excretion would correspond with a dietary salt intake of 9·8 (sd4·6) g/d, and it would mean that 88·2 % of the subjects had salt intakes above the recommended 5 g/d. Logistic regression analysis, adjusted for sex, age and BMI, showed male sex (OR 3·678, 95 % CI 2·336, 5·791) and increasing BMI (OR 1·069, 95 % CI 1·009, 1·132) (P < 0·001) to be associated with excreting >200 mmol/d urinary Na – a consequence of the higher salt intake in men and in participants with higher BMI. The present results help us to know the baseline salt intake in the Spanish young and middle-aged adult population, and can be used as the baseline to design policies to reduce salt consumption.

Overweight/obese persons usually have an inadequate vitamin D status, a situation commonly made worse by an inadequate intake of this vitamin. For this reason, the aim of this study was to analyze dietetic and anthropometric differences in a group of young, overweight/obese Spanish women with respect to their vitamin D status. The study subjects were 66 white Spanish women (aged 20–35 years) with a BMI of 24–35 kg/m². Dietetic, anthropometric, and biochemical data were collected. Women were divided into two groups depending on their serum vitamin D concentrations: LD (women with <90 nmol/l 25(OH)D) and HD (women with ≥90 nmol/l 25(OH)D). The intakes of vitamin D, calcium, and supplements were similar in both groups. The body weight, BMI, and waist circumference of the HD subjects were smaller than those recorded for the LD subjects (68.6 ± 4.2 kg, 26.0 ± 1.3 kg/m², and 79.4 ± 3.4 cm compared to 76.2 ± 9.8, 28.6 ± 3.2 kg/m², and 86.2 ± 9.3 cm, respectively; P < 0.05). The hip circumference and the waist/hip ratio were similar in both groups. A BMI of <27.7 kg/m² (P50) was associated with serum vitamin D concentrations of ≥90 nmol/l (odds ratio = 0.1313; confidence interval: 0.0149–1.1599; P < 0.05). Overweight/obese women are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiency, largely due to excess adiposity rather than inadequate intake.

Poor diet quality and obesity, especially abdominal obesity, have been associated with systemic inflammation. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte Ratio (NLR) is an available and inexpensive inflammation biomarker. The aim of the present study was to determine the association of dietary patterns and obesity with an inflammatory state. A group of 1747 Spanish noninstitutionalized older adults individuals were included, and a food-frequency questionnaire was applied. The Global Food Score (GFS) and Healthy Eating Index for Spanish population (SHEI) were calculated. Weight, height and waist (WC) and hip circumferences were measured, and BMI, waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) determined. In addition, body-fat percentage was measured by bioimpedance. NLR was calculated (NLR ≥ p80: 2.6; 2.8 and 2.4 as inflammatory status in the entire population, men and women, respectively). The men with inflammatory status presented significative higher values of WC, WHtR, WHR, and body-fat percentage (101.82 ± 10.34 cm, 0.61 ± 0.06, 0.98 ± 0.06, and 31.68 ± 5.94%, respectively) than those with better inflammatory status (100.18 ± 10.22 cm, 0.59 ± 0.06, 0.97 ± 0.07, and 30.31 ± 6.16%, respectively). Those males with worse inflammatory state had lower scores for protein foods (OR = 0.898 (0.812–0.993); p = 0.037). The women with NLR ≥ 2.4 had higher WHtR and WHR (0.62 ± 0.09 and 0.91 ± 0.09) than those with NLR < 2.4 (0.60 ± 0.08 and 0.90 ± 0.08). In multiple linear regression analysis, NLR was positively related with WHtR and negatively related with SHEI score (β = 0.224 ± 0.094; R² = 0.060; p < 0.05 and β = −0.218 ± 0.101; R² = 0.061; p < 0.05), adjusting by sex, age, marital status, education level, smoking, hours of sleeping and inflammatory diseases. In women, the higher the SHEI and GFS scores were and the better meeting the aims of cereal and vegetable servings, the less the odds of inflammatory status (OR = 0.970 (0.948–0.992); p = 0.008; OR = 0.963 (0.932–0.995); p = 0.024; OR = 0.818 (0.688–0.974); p = 0.024 and OR = 0.829 (0.730–0.942); p = 0.004, respectively). WHtR and quality of diet is related to the inflammation status in older adults regardless to the sex.

Purpose High intake of salt is associated with early development of cardiovascular risk factors (e.g., hypertension, obesity). In “developed” countries, individuals frequently exceed dietary recommendations for salt intake. Taking into account the limited data on sodium intake by 24-h excretion in urine in schoolchildren, we wished to determine baseline salt intake in Spanish subjects aged 7–11 years. Methods The present study was an observational study involving 205 schoolchildren (109 boys and 96 girls) selected from various Spanish provinces. Sodium intake was ascertained by measuring sodium excretion in urine over 24 h. Creatinine was used to validate completeness of urine collections. The correlation between fat-free mass determined by anthropometry and that determined via urinary excretion of creatinine was calculated (r = 0.651; p < 0.001). Results Mean 24-h urinary excretion of sodium was 132.7 ± 51.4 mmol/24 h (salt equivalent: 7.8 ± 3.1 g/day). Hence, 84.5 % of subjects aged ≤10 years had intakes of >4 g salt/day, and 66.7 % of those aged >10 years had intakes of >5 g salt/day. Urinary excretion of sodium was correlated with systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure (r = 0.1574 and r = 0.1400, respectively). Logistic regression analyses, adjusted by sex, showed that a high body mass index (odds ratio = 1.159; 95 % CI 1.041–1.290; p < 0.05) was associated with an increased likelihood of high urinary excretion of sodium. Conclusions Sodium intake, as estimated by 24-h urinary excretion, was (on average) higher than recommended. Reducing the sodium content children’s diet is a sound policy to reduce cardiovascular risk.