Miso soup frequency and daily salt intake in Japanese adults
What it found
People who ate miso soup more often had slightly higher estimated daily salt intake.
This link was seen across most age groups but not in people aged 80 or older.
What they found
Studies in people
More miso soup, more salt
Across all participants, those who reported eating miso soup more often had a slightly higher estimated daily salt intake. The average salt intake for the whole group was 9.4 g per day.
Age changed the pattern
The link between eating miso soup more often and having higher salt intake held true for every age group except people aged 80 and older. In that oldest group, no such link appeared.
Older people eat it more
Older participants reported eating miso soup and pickles more frequently than younger ones. Younger generations seem to be shifting away from these traditional dishes.
Salt intake by age
Estimated salt intake rose with age up to the 50 to 59 group, reaching 10.0 g per day. It then dropped to 8.3 g per day in those aged 80 and older.
What the authors conclude
- They suggest that eating miso soup less often could help lower salt intake in the general Japanese population.
- They note this approach may not work for people in their eighties or nineties, possibly because many in that group already take steps to limit salt due to high blood pressure.
How it was done
In Japan, health workers often advise eating less miso soup to cut down on salt. Because eating habits have shifted toward Western foods over recent decades, the authors wanted to check if this advice still matches current data.
They looked at health check records from 8,821 adults aged 19 to 97 living on an island in Japan in 2013. Participants filled out a questionnaire about how often they ate miso soup and pickles. Salt intake was estimated from a single urine sample rather than measured directly from food.
What it can’t tell you
- This study only looked at people at one point in time, so it cannot prove that eating miso soup causes higher salt intake.
- Salt was estimated from a single urine sample rather than tracked over a full day, which may not reflect exact intake.
- Everyone lived on the same small island, so the results might not apply to people elsewhere.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Japan
The paper
- Title
- Associations between the intake of miso soup and Japanese pickles and the estimated 24-hour urinary sodium excretion: a population-based cross-sectional study
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Wakasugi M, James Kazama J, Narita I (2015). Associations between the intake of miso soup and Japanese pickles and the estimated 24-hour urinary sodium excretion: a population-based cross-sectional study. Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan). doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.54.4336Free full textPubMed 25876570DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error