Knowledge, Attitudes, and Dietary Behaviors regarding Salt Intake among Adults in Mecca city, Saudi Arabia
Author(s): Sarah Fouad Nabrawi and Nesrin Kamal Abd El-Fatah*
Abstract
Background: Salt-related knowledge and behaviors data in Saudi Arabia is currently scarce. To establish a salt reduction program, data on the population's knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards salt is crucial. Therefore, we aimed to assess salt related knowledge, attitude, and behaviors (KAB), as well as their associations with demographic characteristics and knowledge and attitudes association with self-reported behaviors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 270 Saudi Arabian adults, attending primary health care in Mecca city. Participants self-reported demographic, medical information, as well as completed a predesigned salt related KAB questionnaire. Results: Three quarters of participants (74.8%) reported poor knowledge. Only one fifth correctly identified adults recommended daily salt intake, and the Saudi diet's primary source of salt. Nearly half (45.7%) were concerned about food salt amount. Majority of participants (94.4%) had poor dietary salt behaviors that increase salt intake. Two thirds (68.5%) are often add salt during cooking, only 25.6% checking for salt label content and 38.9% buy no/low salt items. Knowledge was significantly higher among healthcare workers and younger adults, while positive attitude was significantly higher among females and participants with chronic diseases, frequent checking salt/sodium food labels, and higher rate of cutting down salt intake behavior. knowledge showed mild positive correlation with the attitude. Conclusions: this study results can be utilized to establish a baseline for salt intake KABs in Saudi Arabian adults and to track its changes over time. Community knowledge about dietary salt and their health hazards is low and raising awareness is crucial.