title: Knowledge, perceptions, and behaviors related to salt use among Philadelphia Chinese take-out restaurant owners and chefs.
abstract: Most of the sodium Americans consume comes from processed and restaurant foods. An upstream global strategy to promote health is to work with local restaurants to reduce sodium content in their food offerings, while accounting for food taste and economic considerations. In urban communities, Chinese take-out restaurants serve meals with large amounts of sodium and are clustered in low-income, racial/ethnic minority communities with a high prevalence of hypertension. The objective of this study is to assess baseline knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to sodium use/consumption among Chinese take-out owners and chefs recruited to participate in the Philadelphia Healthy Chinese Take-Out Initiative. A cross-sectional study of 221 Chinese take-out restaurants was conducted from August 2012 to February 2013. Items measured knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to salt use, salt consumption, and health. Most owners/chefs knew that excess sodium consumption contributes to high blood pressure but were less aware of other health effects and of major sources of sodium in the U.S. diet. The majority were willing and able to reduce sodium content in meals if customer demand could be maintained, and they desired training in food preparation, procurement, and marketing. Findings show a need to provide education, strategies, and support to Chinese take-out owners/chefs in preparing low-salt dishes. The results of this and future studies to reduce sodium content in meals by working with restaurant owners and chefs have global health promotion implications.
authors.affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA grace.ma@temple.edu.
authors.forename: Grace X
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA East Stroudsburg University, East Stroudsburg, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shive
authors.affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA Asian Community Health Coalition, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aquilante
authors.affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Yin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.affiliation: Greater Philadelphia Chinese Restaurant Association, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Asian Community Health Coalition, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Jamil
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Toubbeh
authors.affiliation: Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Colby
authors.affiliation: Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Giridhar
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mallya
authors.affiliation: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Qiaoling
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D001213:Asian; D002681:China / Q000208:ethnology; D003296:Cooking; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology; D008612:Menu Planning; D010414:Pennsylvania; D012147:Restaurants; D012307:Risk Factors; D012982:Sodium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D012982:Sodium, Dietary
keywords: Chinese restaurants; high blood pressure; sodium consumption; sodium reduction