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Study · Nutrients · 2021Conflicts declared

Miso, estimated salt intake and obesity in type 2 diabetes

Takahashi F, Hashimoto Y, Kaji A, et al · Free full text

What it found

In 300 people with type 2 diabetes, those with high estimated salt intake who ate miso regularly were less likely to be obese than those with high estimated salt intake who did not eat miso.

This was a cross-sectional study, so it cannot show cause and effect.

What they found

Studies in people

Obesity and salt intake

People with high estimated salt intake were more likely to be obese than those with lower intake. The authors adjusted for factors like age, sex, and diabetes duration.

Miso and obesity

Among those with high estimated salt intake, those who ate miso regularly had a lower obesity rate than those who did not. The obesity rate was 40.2% with miso and 77.8% without.

Other findings

Miso and salt excretion

The authors say miso may help the body excrete salt, so urine tests might show a higher salt intake than a person actually eats.

What the authors conclude

“Clinicians should be aware that estimated salt intake may be higher than actual salt intake in people with habitual miso consumption because miso consumption promotes salt excretion.”
Takahashi F, Hashimoto Y, Kaji A, et al, 2021

Also in their conclusions

  • They report that obesity in people with high estimated salt intake and habitual miso consumption was lower than for people with high salt intake without miso.
  • They advise that clinicians should be aware that estimated salt intake may be higher than actual salt intake in people who habitually consume miso because miso consumption promotes salt excretion.

How it was done

The authors wanted to see whether a high estimated salt intake is really linked to obesity in people who eat miso regularly, because miso may increase salt excretion and make salt intake look higher than it is.

They studied 300 people with type 2 diabetes from two hospitals in Japan. They estimated salt intake from urine, asked about miso soup consumption, and measured body fat to define obesity.

What it can’t tell you

  • This was a cross-sectional study, so it cannot show whether miso or salt intake causes changes in obesity.
  • The study relied on self-reported miso consumption and a formula to estimate salt intake, which may not be perfectly accurate for individuals.
  • The number of people who did not eat miso was small, so the results need confirmation in larger studies.

The paper

Title
Association of Estimated Salt and Miso Intake with the Prevalence of Obesity in People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study
Type
Study
Evidence
Studies in people
Summarised from
Full text
Licence
CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
Cite
Takahashi F, Hashimoto Y, Kaji A, et al (2021). Association of Estimated Salt and Miso Intake with the Prevalence of Obesity in People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu13093014Free full textPubMed 34578892DOI

Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error