Sodium always wrong in food database

Tigermad
Tigermad Posts: 305 Member
edited October 4 in Health and Weight Loss
I am a tad confused with food database. It appears that the sodium level is inputted at grams when it is supposed to be mg. For example a Mcdonalds Cheesburge happy meal is supposed to have a total of 2g sodium. But whoever entered it has put it has 2mg, so the calcualtion is way out.

This is the same on at least 60 percent of the food I enter from the database.

I am correct in thinking this is wrong?

Replies

  • rockerbabyy
    rockerbabyy Posts: 2,258 Member
    im pretty sure sodium is always measured in mg...ive never really noticed foods that have it listed as grams...i suppose i should pay closer attention >.> i always just look at the number
  • Maryee71
    Maryee71 Posts: 434 Member
    O my, I hadn't noticed. I'm really watching my sodium, so I'll have to pay more attention. Except for a couple things it has usually looked ok.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
    im pretty sure sodium is always measured in mg...ive never really noticed foods that have it listed as grams...i suppose i should pay closer attention >.> i always just look at the number

    It's listed in miligrams in the US, but I believe it's usually listed on UK labels in grams. This can lead to confusion if someone means to input in grams and uses the miligrams unit instead. I haven't really noticed it in anything I eat, but I've heard of the issue.
  • grrrlface
    grrrlface Posts: 1,204 Member
    I always find this too. I always check the nutritional information before i add it to my diary though and correct it if I know/have the packet to hand.
  • Tigermad
    Tigermad Posts: 305 Member
    I always find this too. I always check the nutritional information before i add it to my diary though and correct it if I know/have the packet to hand.

    Yep. I am going to do that too from now on. I guess I eat too much processed food though, that is why I noticed :-(

    I am in the UK by the way so maybe it is just UK food that is affected.
  • marekesh
    marekesh Posts: 1 Member
    I have noticed the sodium levels are wrong on a lot of branded meals especially. Where I have noticed this I set up a new version with a suffix 'Correct Sodium'. In the UK sodium is often expressed in grams and in the myfitnesspal database it is expressed in mg (so multiply the grams by 1000 to get the correct value). I think there should be some kind of scrutiny mechanism generally to check the accuracy of the database and this needs to be ongoing as new recipes, for instance, could affect the numbers.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    I have noticed the sodium levels are wrong on a lot of branded meals especially. Where I have noticed this I set up a new version with a suffix 'Correct Sodium'. In the UK sodium is often expressed in grams and in the myfitnesspal database it is expressed in mg (so multiply the grams by 1000 to get the correct value). I think there should be some kind of scrutiny mechanism generally to check the accuracy of the database and this needs to be ongoing as new recipes, for instance, could affect the numbers.

    The scrutiny mechanism is being able to correct the entries in the database. I believe you can only do this through the website, not on the mobile app. There is a button that says "Is this data accurate" and you can pick yes or no. If you say no, an edit button will pop up so you can modify the nutritional content, describe why you did it, and resubmit it to the database.
  • Mach202
    Mach202 Posts: 2
    I've only been using MFP for a few weeks and I too have noticed this. The doc has advised me to loose some weight and cut down my salt so the sodium info is important to me.
    It does appear that someone is getting mixed up with mg and grams. As already stated you can Edit this info on the database which means you get it right for yourself and for others, which is much better than just complaining about it.

    To Edit the entry you have to do it on your computer. Log in to MFP and go to the Food tab, click Database and search for the food in question. Choose the food from the list that comes up ad if the data is wrong click on the green Edit box and enter the right info on the page that comes up. You will have to enter the reason for your change in the box at the bottom of the page and then click Save Changes.
    The correct information will then show up on your phone next time it syncs.
  • nas061
    nas061 Posts: 256 Member
    Yes, in UK salt content is given in grams, and often people enter that value as the sodium level instead of multiplying by 1000 to give mg. The salt content is given often followed by "sodium equivalent" as 1g of salt only contains 0.38 g sodium so that is another source of error.
This discussion has been closed.

Categories