The bar graph illustrates the amount of salt consumed by males and females in the US in 2000, alongside the recommended adult salt level.
Overall, the salt intake of males surpassed that of females across all age groups, with the highest figure recorded in the 20-39 male age category. Notably, most age cohorts exceeded the recommended level to varying extents, except for children under 6 and women aged over 60.
Looking first at the salt consumption of the under 6 to 20-39 age groups, the figures for males were consistently higher than those for females. Among children under 6, the salt intake of boys reached roughly 2,000 milligrams, while girls consumed around 1,250, both were well below the suggested level. However, a sharp increase was seen in the 6-11 and 12-19 age categories, the figures then stood at 4,100 milligrams for males and 3,000 milligrams for females, marking both above the advised threshold. Similarly, the highest intake was seen in the 20-39 age group, with males ingesting approximately 4,500 milligrams and females at 3,200 milligrams, both of which far surpassed the recommended level and were more than double the levels of their under 6 counterparts.
Turning to the older age groups, salt consumption declined steadily from the 20-39 bracket. Within those in the 40-60 category, males and females recorded an intake of around 4,000 and 3,100 milligrams respectively, and these amounts exceeded the suggested limit. For the over 60 age bracket, male intake reached roughly 3,600 milligrams, still above the advised level, whereas females aligned with the recommended threshold at around 2,500 milligrams.