Table.
Reported barriers to limiting sodium intake: those taking action to limit sodium versus those who are not
| Not taking personal action | Taking personal action | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disagree (%) | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree (%) | Disagree (%) | Neither Agree nor Disagree | Agree (%) | P value action vs. no action | |
| There is not enough variety of low-sodium processed foods | 28.7 (2.1) | 23.4 (2.0) | 35.3 (2.2) | 19.6 (1.2) | 18.2 (1.3) | 55.5 (1.6) | <0.0001 |
| It is hard to understand sodium information on food labels | 47.3 (2.3) | 20.2 (1.8) | 26.5 (1.9) | 46.6 (1.6) | 19.8 (1.2) | 31.7 (1.5) | 0.0003 |
| I don’t know how/lack of information | 47.8 (2.3) | 22.3 (1.9) | 21.8 (2.0) | 58.8 (1.6) | 20.4 (1.3) | 14.9 (1.1) | 0.0002 |
| A lack of support from my family/friends makes reducing sodium difficult | 62.0 (2.2) | 14.7 (1.6) | 6.6 (1.1) | 69.9 (1.5) | 11.4 (1.1) | 8.2 (1.1) | 0.0011 |
| Only one person in my household wants to/needs to lower their sodium intake. It’s too much trouble for one person to eat lower sodium. | 55.8 (2.3) | 13.8 (1.7) | 5.9 (1.0) | 70.7 (1.5) | 8.5 (1.1) | 7.2 (0.8) | <0.0001 |
| Lack of willpower | 41.3 (2.3) | 21.8 (2.1) | 23.1 (1.9) | 61.2 (1.6) | 16.6 (1.2) | 16.2 (1.3) | <0.0001 |
| Low sodium food products don’t taste as good, compared to regular products | 31.1 (2.0) | 28.6 (2.2) | 33.5 (2.2) | 49.7 (1.6) | 24.2 (1.3) | 23.5 (1.3) | <0.0001 |
| I don’t know how or don’t like to cook | 69.2 (2.1) | 12.7 (1.7) | 13.0 (1.4) | 79.1 (1.3) | 8.1 (1.0) | 8.6 (0.9) | 0.0003 |
| I don’t always have time to prepare low sodium meals/meals from scratch | 51.8 (2.3) | 16.3 (1.8) | 26.4 (2.1) | 57.6 (1.6) | 14.7 (1.1) | 25.0 (1.4) | 0.0158 |
| The price difference between low-sodium and regular foods is too high for me | 54.9 (2.3) | 20.4 (1.8) | 12.6 (1.6) | 61.2 (1.6) | 18.9 (1.3) | 11.6 (1.0) | 0.0426 |
| When eating at fast food restaurants, I find that lower sodium options are not available or only in limited variety | 10.1 (1.5) | 17.1 (1.7) | 54.4 (2.3) | 7.6 (0.8) | 10.1 (1.0) | 65.8 (1.5) | <0.0001 |
| When eating at sit-down restaurants, I find that lower sodium options are not available or only in limited variety | 12.7 (1.4) | 23.6 (2.1) | 51.2 (2.3) | 11.6 (1.1) | 16.7 (1.1) | 65.2 (1.5) | <0.0001 |
Data presented as percentage (standard error of percentage). Subjects had the option of choosing “not applicable” for each barrier, which makes up the difference in the percentages. These individuals were included in the analysis. The Rao-Scott chi-square test was used to test the association between barriers and personal action.