@article{21103, author = {Barzi Federica and Woodward Mark and Land Mary Anne and Christoforou A. and Nowson C. and Trevena Helen and Jeffery P. and Smith W. and Flood V. and Hodgins F. and Johnson Claire and Chalmers J. and Neal Bruce and Webster Jacqui}, title = {The association of knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to salt with 24-hour urinary sodium excretion}, abstract = {

AIM: Salt reduction efforts usually have a strong focus on consumer education. Understanding the association between salt consumption levels and knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards salt should provide insight into the likely effectiveness of education-based programs. METHODS: A single 24-hour urine sample and a questionnaire describing knowledge, attitudes and behaviours was obtained from 306 randomly selected participants and 113 volunteers from a regional town in Australia. RESULTS: Mean age of all participants was 55 years (range 20-88), 55% were women and mean 24-hour urinary salt excretion was 8.8(3.6) g/d. There was no difference in salt excretion between the randomly selected and volunteer sample. Virtually all participants (95%) identified that a diet high in salt can cause serious health problems with the majority of participants (81%) linking a high salt diet to raised blood pressure. There was no difference in salt excretion between those who did 8.7(2.1) g/d and did not 7.5(3.3) g/d identify that a diet high in salt causes high blood pressure (p=0.1). Nor was there a difference between individuals who believed they consumed "too much" 8.9(3.3) g/d "just the right amount" 8.4(2.6) g/d or "too little salt" 9.1(3.7) g/d (p=0.2). Likewise, individuals who indicated that lowering their salt intake was important 8.5(2.9) g/d vs. not important 8.8(2.4) g/d did not have different consumption levels (p=0.4). CONCLUSION: The absence of a clear association between knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards salt and actual salt consumption suggests that interventions focused on knowledge, attitudes and behaviours alone may be of limited efficacy.

}, year = {2014}, journal = {International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity}, volume = {11}, edition = {2014/04/09}, number = {1}, pages = {47}, isbn = {1479-5868 (Electronic)
1479-5868 (Linking)}, note = {Land, Mary-Anne
Webster, Jacqui
Christoforou, Anthea
Johnson, Claire
Trevena, Helen
Hodgins, Frances
Chalmers, John
Woodward, Mark
Barzi, Federica
Smith, Wayne
Flood, Victoria
Jeffery, Paul
Nowson, Caryl
Neal, Bruce
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
England
Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2014 Apr 4;11(1):47. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-11-47.}, language = {eng}, }