Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2012 Oct;32(4):265-73. doi: 10.1590/s1020-49892012001000004.
To describe individual attitudes, knowledge, and behavior regarding salt intake, its dietary sources, and current food-labeling practices related to salt and sodium in five sentinel countries of the Americas.
A convenience sample of 1 992 adults (≥ 18 years old) from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, and Ecuador (approximately 400 from each country) was obtained between September 2010 and February 2011. Data collection was conducted in shopping malls or major commercial areas using a questionnaire containing 33 questions. Descriptive estimates are presented for the total sample and stratified by country and sociodemographic characteristics of the studied population.
Almost 90% of participants associated excess intake of salt with the occurrence of adverse health conditions, more than 60% indicated they were trying to reduce their current intake of salt, and more than 30% believed reducing dietary salt to be of high importance. Only 26% of participants claimed to know the existence of a recommended maximum value of salt or sodium intake and 47% of them stated they knew the content of salt in food items. More than 80% of participants said that they would like food labeling to indicate high, medium, and low levels of salt or sodium and would like to see a clear warning label on packages of foods high in salt.
Additional effort is required to increase consumers' knowledge about the existence of a maximum limit for intake and to improve their capacity to accurately monitor and reduce their personal salt consumption.
描述五个美洲哨点国家（阿根廷、加拿大、智利、哥斯达黎加和厄瓜多尔）成年人个体对盐摄入量、盐的饮食来源以及与盐和钠相关的现行食品标签做法的态度、知识和行为。
2010 年 9 月至 2011 年 2 月期间，采用便利抽样方法从上述五个国家中抽取了 1992 名（每个国家约 400 名）年龄≥18 岁的成年人作为研究对象。在购物中心或主要商业区使用包含 33 个问题的问卷收集数据。对总样本以及按照国家和研究人群社会人口学特征进行分层的样本进行描述性估计。
近 90%的参与者将盐摄入量过多与不良健康状况的发生联系起来，超过 60%的参与者表示他们正试图减少当前盐的摄入量，超过 30%的参与者认为减少膳食盐非常重要。仅有 26%的参与者声称知道存在推荐的盐或钠摄入量最高值，而 47%的参与者表示他们知道食物中盐的含量。超过 80%的参与者表示希望食品标签能够标明盐或钠的高低水平，并且希望在高盐食品的包装上看到明确的警示标签。
需要进一步努力提高消费者对摄入量最高限量存在的认识，并提高其准确监测和减少个人盐摄入量的能力。
