Table 2.
Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding dietary salt consumption, by residence, of adults aged ≥20 years in rural Haryana and urban Delhi, North India
| Rural (n 701) | Urban (n 934) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | 95 % CI | % | 95 % CI | |
| Knowledge | ||||
| Knows high salt diet causes health problems | ||||
| Yes | 22·7 | 19·6, 25·8 | 47·9 | 44·3, 51·5 |
| No | 15·7 | 13·0, 18·4 | 12·9 | 10·5, 15·4 |
| Don’t know | 61·6 | 58·0, 65·2 | 39·2 | 35·6, 42·7 |
| Knows high-salt diet is a risk factor for high blood pressure/hypertension | ||||
| Yes | 24·0 | 20·9, 27·2 | 40·5 | 37·0, 44·0 |
| No | 76·0 | 72·9, 79·2 | 59·5 | 56·0, 63·0 |
| Knows there should be a maximum daily salt consumption limit | ||||
| Yes | 17·5 | 14·7, 20·4 | 20·8 | 17·8, 23·8 |
| No | 61·2 | 57·6, 64·8 | 23·5 | 20·4, 26·8 |
| Don’t know | 21·3 | 18·2, 24·3 | 55·8 | 52·2, 59·4 |
| Knows correct amount of daily salt consumption† | ||||
| Yes | 17·4 | 14·6, 20·2 | 17·9 | 15·1, 20·8 |
| No | 82·5 | 79·6, 85·3 | 80·4 | 77·5, 83·4 |
| Don’t know | 0·1 | −0·1, 0·4 | 1·6 | 0·6, 2·6 |
| Attitudes | ||||
| Thinks s/he is eating: | ||||
| Too much salt | 9·1 | 6·9, 11·1 | 11·8 | 9·3, 14·2 |
| Just the right amount salt | 75·6 | 72·4, 78·8 | 66·5 | 63·1, 70·0 |
| Too little salt | 15·3 | 12·6, 18·0 | 17·4 | 14·7, 20·1 |
| Don’t know | 0·0 | 4·3 | 2·8, 5·7 | |
| Thinks it is important to lower dietary salt consumption | ||||
| Yes | 46·6 | 43·0, 50·3 | 45·1 | 41·5, 48·7 |
| No | 49·1 | 45·4, 52·8 | 26·1 | 22·9, 29·3 |
| Don’t know | 4·3 | 2·8, 5·8 | 28·8 | 25·5, 32·2 |
| Practices | ||||
| Adds salt in cooking | ||||
| Towards the end/after cooking | 0·6 | 0·0, 1·1 | 3·2 | 1·9, 4·5 |
| Halfway through cooking | 1·3 | 0·4, 2·1 | 29·0 | 25·6, 32·3 |
| At the beginning of cooking | 96·7 | 95·4, 98·0 | 55·7 | 52·1, 59·3 |
| Don’t know | 1·4 | 0·5, 0·2 | 12·2 | 9·9, 14·5 |
| Do you add salt to dough/rice | ||||
| Always | 98·7 | 97·9, 99·6 | 70·1 | 66·8, 73·4 |
| Never | 1·3 | 0·4, 2·1 | 29·9 | 26·6, 33·2 |
| Do you add salt to food/salad at the table or while eating | ||||
| Always | 80·6 | 77·7, 83·5 | 87·6 | 85·3, 89·9 |
| Never | 19·4 | 16·5, 22·3 | 12·4 | 10·1, 14·7 |
| Take regular action to control salt intake | ||||
| Yes | 3·7 | 2·3, 5·1 | 10·2 | 8·0, 12·3 |
| No | 96·3 | 94·9, 97·7 | 89·8 | 87·6, 92·0 |
| Actions taken to control salt intake | ||||
| Avoid/minimise consumption of snacks/namkeens/pickles/ | 0·4 | −0·0, 0·9 | 0·9 | 0·3, 1·4 |
| papads/processed foods | ||||
| Look at the salt labels on food/buy low-salt alternatives | 0·6 | 0·0, 1·1 | 3·0 | 1·7, 4·3 |
| Do not add salt at the table/cooking | 2·6 | 1·4, 3·7 | 2·7 | 1·7, 3·7 |
| Use spices other than salt when cooking | 0·0 | 0·5 | −0·0, 0·1 | |
| Avoid eating out | 0·1 | −0·1, 0·4 | 3·0 | 1·8, 4·3 |
| No action taken | 96·3 | 94·9, 97·7 | 89·9 | 87·7, 92·0 |
†
Correct amount: ≤1 teaspoon of salt (1 teaspoon ≈ 5 g of salt).