title: Assessment of consumers’ level of engagement in following  recommendations for lowering sodium intake.
abstract: Population-wide sodium reduction strategies encourage consumer participation in lowering dietary sodium. This study aims to measure and rank consumers’ level of engagement in following 23 recommendations to reduce dietary sodium and to compare variation in level of consumers’ engagement by sociodemographic sub-groups. The study included 869 randomly selected participants of an online food panel survey from Ontario during November and December 2010. Rasch modelling was used for the analysis. Consumers were less likely to be engaged in 9 out of the 23 recommendations, in particular those related to avoiding foods higher in sodium and implementing sodium reduction strategies while eating in restaurants. Higher level of consumers’ engagement was observed in relation to food preparation practices, including use of low sodium ingredients. In comparison to the relevant reference group, men, older individuals, with lower educational level, single, and those who do not prepare food from scratch showed an overall lower level of engagement in following recommendations to lowering dietary sodium, particularly related to avoiding processed foods. These data provide novel insights and can inform public education campaigns, and highlight the need for interventions and programs targeted at the food supply that can assist consumers in lowering their sodium intake.
authors: Julio Ernesto
authors: JE
authors: Mendoza
authors: Grietje Anna
authors: GA
authors: Schram
authors: JoAnne
authors: J
authors: Arcand
authors: Spencer
authors: S
authors: Henson
authors: Mary
authors: M
authors: L'Abbe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003256:Community Participation; D003625:Data Collection; D004032:Diet; D004039:Diet, Sodium-Restricted; D005260:Female; D005511:Food Handling; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018673:Nutrition Policy; D009864:Ontario; D012147:Restaurants; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D012964:Sodium / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary; D012964:Sodium