People in China consume 10 grams of salt a day on average, twice the amount recommended by the World Health Organization, and over the past four decades adults in China have had among the highest salt consumption in the world.

中国人平均每天吃掉10g盐，是世界卫生组织推荐量的二倍，过去40年间中国成年人食盐量位居世界首位。

Salt intake¹ in China is confirmed to be among the highest in the world, with adults over the past four decades consistently consuming on average above 10g of salt a day, which is more than twice the recommended limit, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London.

伦敦大学玛丽皇后学院进行的新研究显示，经证实中国盐的摄入量居世界首位，过去40年里成年人一天的盐平均摄入量始终高于10g，超过建议最高摄入量的二倍。

The systematic² review and meta-analysis, funded by the National Institute for Health Research and published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, also found that Chinese children aged 3-6 are eating the maximum amount of salt recommended by the World Health Organization for adults (5g a day) while older children eat almost 9g/day.

由英国国家健康研究所出资并发表在《美国心脏协会杂志》上的系统回顾和荟萃分析也发现3-6岁的中国儿童食盐量为世界卫生组织推荐的最大值（5g/天），年龄更大的孩子食盐量约为9g/天。

Excess salt intake raises blood pressure, a major cause of strokes and heart disease, which accounts for approximately 40 per cent of deaths in the Chinese population.

盐摄入过量会使血压升高，是中风和心脏病的主要原因，致死人数约占中国死亡总人数的40%。

The team reviewed all data ever published on salt intake in China (which involved about 900 children and 26,000 adults across the country) and found that salt intake has been consistently high over the past four decades, with a North-South divide.

该团队参考了中国所有发表过的关于盐摄入量的数据（涉及全国约900名儿童和26,000名成年人），发现盐摄入量在过去40年里一直居高不下，但南北情况有差异。

While salt intake in northern China is among the highest in the world (11.2g a day) it has been declining since the 1980s when it was 12.8g a day, and most markedly since the 2000s.

中国北方地区盐摄入量全球最高（11.2g/天），这一数字从20世纪80年代起一直在下降，当时为12.8g/天，进入21世纪以后下降最为明显。

This could be the result of both governmental efforts in salt awareness³ education and the lessened⁴ reliance on pickled food -- owing to a greater year-round availability of vegetables.

其原因可能在于政府加强盐意识教育以及人们对腌制食品的依赖程度下降，因为全年蔬菜供应量增加了。

However, this trend of decrease was not seen in southern China, which has vastly increased from 8.8g a day in the 1980s to 10.2g a day in the 2010s.

然而中国南方并未出现下降趋势，盐摄入量从20世纪80年代的8.8g/天大幅上升至2010年以后的10.2g/天。

This could be due to governmental efforts being mitigated⁵ by the growing consumption of processed foods and out-of-home meals.

其原因可能在于加工食品和外出就餐量增长，从而导致政府的努力未达到预期效果。

These latest results contradict those of previous studies based on less robust⁶ data which reported declines in salt intake across the country.

最新的研究结果与此前的研究结果相矛盾，此前研究所用到的数据显示全国的盐摄入量均有所下降，不太可信。