Overview
- Adults eating instant noodles more than twice a week had a 48% higher likelihood of metabolic syndrome compared with rare consumers.
- Frequent consumers showed a 38% higher likelihood of hypertriglyceridemia, with additional links reported to abdominal obesity.
- The findings come from an observational analysis of 10,505 adults in Korea’s 2012–2016 national health survey using food-frequency questionnaires.
- The reported associations appeared stronger in women, pointing to possible subgroup vulnerability.
- With many packets delivering 600–1,500 mg of sodium versus a WHO guideline of under 2,000 mg per day, nutrition experts recommend adding vegetables and protein and using less of the flavor sachet.