The bar chart compares data on salt intake by two genders throughout their lives in the USA. Overall, men exhibited considerably higher figures than their female counterparts, whereas preschool children of both genders were the only ones whose salt intake did not exceed recommendations.
Focusing on children first, preschoolers showed the lowest numbers compared to other age groups, with girls under 6 consuming around 1000 milligrams of salt and boys twice more. However, this gap narrowed down in the next age bracket (6-11); boys’ food ration included 3,500 milligrams and those of girls’ 3,000 milligrams.
The numbers for males continued to grow as they got older. This trend was especially pronounced among young men, whose salt intake reached 4,200 milligrams by the age of 19 and grew further up to 4,500 milligrams for those aged 20 to 39. Nevertheless, this was followed by a gradual decline; figures decreased slightly to 3,900 and then to 3,500 for adults aged 40 to 60 and elderly over 60, respectively.
Remarkably, females demonstrated generally consistent numbers throughout their teenage and adult years. Starting with nearly 3,000 milligrams in the 12-19 age bracket, this number increased slightly and constituted approximately 3,100 milligrams in the next age bracket (20-39), followed by a minor drop to 3,000 for women aged 40-60. However, this trend continued and those older than 60 exhibited all-time low figures for adults with 2,5000 milligrams.