If you’re on a low-sodium diet or if you simply like to monitor your salt intake, you’ll be interested to know that sodium content in fast food products depends largely on where you buy it. No, this isn’t a question of McDonald’s vs. Burger King, but rather one of North America vs. Europe, according to a new study by researchers at Alberta, Canada’s University of Calgary.

The differences are drastic, with the researchers stating that a Chicken McNugget sold in the United States contains about 2.5 times as much sodium as a McNugget sold in the United Kindom, for example.

The trend was similar when comparing other Canadian and American fast food restaurants to their counterparts in France and the United Kingdom.

Comparing the Various Fast Food Sodium Levels by Country

During the study, medicine professor Dr. Norman Campbell and a team of other researchers analyzed the nutritional data for over 2,000 fast food products from six different chains:

• Pizza Hut

• Subway

• McDonald’s

• Domino’s Pizza

• Burger King

• Kentucky Fried Chicken

These chains were examined in six different countries:

• United States

• United Kingdom

• New Zealand

• France

• Canada

• Australia

Overall, the researchers concluded that salads had the lowest sodium content while chicken items, particularly those that were fried, had the highest.

A couple of example comparisons are listed below:

McDonald’s McNuggets

• United States: 640 mg sodium per 100 grams

• United Kingdom: 240 mg sodium per 100 grams

Pizza Hut Hawaiian Pizza

• United States: 600 mg sodium per 100 grams

• United Kingdom: 440 mg sodium per 100 grams

Why the Drastic Differences?

McDonald’s global external communications manager Becca Harvy said that her company always seeks ways to “balance quality and nutrition with the local taste preferences of our customers around the world.” She went on to say that McDonald’s recipes vary geographically because of differences among local suppliers.

However, the researchers were unable to determine exactly why the differences exist, at least not with the data they had available. According to Dr. Cambpell, the differences appear to be arbitrary and have nothing to do with how taste preferences vary by culture. For example, french fries sold in Canada typically had twice as much sodium as fries sold in the U.S. in the study, despite the fact that American diets usually contain more salt than Canadian diets.

For years, fast food companies have claimed that they’re unable to reduce the sodium content in their food products due to technological limitations. However, Dr. Campbell believes that his study has disproven this since fast food chains are obviously already producing lower-sodium versions of their food items, but only choosing to sell them in certain countries.

Danya Proud, a McDonald’s spokesperson, said that McDonald’s corporation has lowered the sodium content of “most chicken products” by approximately 10% in the United States since 2010, the year when data was collected for the University of Calgary study. Additionally, she went on to say that sodium levels would be reduced by an average of 15% for all food items by 2015. Some nutritionists would say that this doesn’t go far enough given that Chicken McNuggets sold in the United Kingdom already contain 60% less sodium than their United States counterparts, a far cry from 10% or 15%.

Dr. Campbell believes that if fast food restaurants gradually reduced their sodium levels by approximately 10% or less per year, most people would never notice a difference in flavor.

Limitations of the Study

The study did contain one notable limitation in that it relied on nutritional data provided by the restaurants themselves. This type of information is always subject to inaccuracies, though the researchers noted that accredited laboratories have tested many of chains’ food products to verify the accuracy of the data.

Why is it Important to Minimize Salt Intake?

Consuming too much sodium is known to raise blood pressure levels, subsequently putting you at an increased risk for stroke and heart disease. A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that approximately 90% of Americans consume too much sodium.

Monitoring and reducing your sodium intake is especially important if you:

• Have diabetes

• Have high blood pressure

• Are over the age of 50

• Are African American

In fact, if you fit any of the above descriptions, you should limit your daily sodium intake to 1,500 mg per day. All other individuals should consume no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Unfortunately, the average American consumes closer to 3,400 mg of sodium every day.

Even for individuals with normal blood pressure levels, salt should be consumed in moderation since eating too much of it can cause you to retain water and become swollen.

Sodium Content in Fast Food: The Bottom Line

A new study by the University of Calgary in Canada has revealed that the sodium levels in fast food items vary drastically by country. For example, chicken nuggets sold in America are far saltier than those sold in the U.K., while french fries sold in Canada are about twice as salty as those sold in the U.S.

The full text of the study can be found in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.