Table 1.
Characteristics of adults and adolescents purchasing meals from fast food restaurant chains in four cities in New England, US, 2013 and 2014, and responses to questionnaire items. Figures are numbers (percentage of participants) unless stated otherwise. P-values are for Student’s t-tests (continuous variables) or Chi-square tests (categorical variables) for differences between participants who provided and could not provide an estimate of the amount of sodium in his/her meal.
| Adults | Adolescents | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Provided estimate of sodium content of meal (n=593) | Did not provide estimate of sodium content of meal (n=176) | P-value | Estimated sodium content of meal (n=473) | Could not provide estimate of sodium content of meal (n=155) | P-value | ||
| Mean (SD; range) sodium purchased (mg) | 1292 (970; 0–4970) | 1280 (818; 0–4050) | 0.87 | 1128 (891;0–4435) | 1091 (823; 13–3665) | 0.65 | |
| Mean (SD; range) age (years) | 36.8 (14.2; 18–83) | 39.7 (15.6; 17–80) | 0.02 | 16.2 (2.7; 11–20) | 16.6 (2.8; 11–20) | 0.10 | |
| Mean (SD; range) BMI | 28.3 (5.9; 16.0–49.2) | 28.1 (6.3; 17.1–50.9) | 0.80 | 23.9 (4.8; 15.3–43.3) | 24.6 (5.7; 16.3–55.4) | 0.16 | |
| Year | 0.85 | <0.01 | |||||
| 2014 | 271 (46) | 79 (45) | 274 (58) | 110 (71) | |||
| 2013 | 322 (54) | 97 (55) | 199 (42) | 45 (29) | |||
| Gender | 0.83 | 0.82 | |||||
| Male | 328 (55) | 99 (56) | 249 (53) | 80 (52) | |||
| Female | 265 (45) | 77 (44) | 226 (47) | 75 (48) | |||
| Race | <0.001 | 0.90 | |||||
| White | 216 (36) | 85 (48) | 96 (20) | 30 (19) | |||
| Black | 201 (34) | 39 (22) | 182 (38) | 55 (35) | |||
| Hispanic | 112 (19) | 34 (19) | 116 (24) | 42 (27) | |||
| Asian | 28 (5) | 0 (0) | 24 (5) | 7 (5) | |||
| Other race | 36 (6) | 18 (10) | 57 (12) | 21 (14) | |||
| Taste important in food choice: | 0.01 | 0.06 | |||||
| A Lot | 481 (81) | 124 (70) | 356 (75) | 112 (72) | |||
| A Little | 86 (15) | 41 (23) | 84 (18) | 38 (25) | |||
| Not at All | 26 (4) | 11 (6) | 33 (7) | 5 (3) | |||
| Calories important in food choice: | 0.73 | 0.06 | |||||
| A Lot | 173 (29) | 46 (26) | 103 (22) | 21 (14) | |||
| A Little | 136 (23) | 43 (24) | 131 (28) | 42 (27) | |||
| Not at All | 284 (48) | 87 (49) | 239 (51) | 92 (59) | |||
| Price important in food choice: | 0.19 | <.01 | |||||
| A Lot | 265 (45) | 70 (40) | 140 (30) | 25 (16) | |||
| A Little | 177 (30) | 49 (28) | 163 (34) | 72 (46) | |||
| Not at All | 151 (25) | 57 (32) | 170 (36) | 58 (37) | |||
| Quick to eat important in food choice: | 0.16 | 0.16 | |||||
| A Lot | 301 (51) | 80 (45) | 154 (33) | 38 (25) | |||
| A Little | 161 (27) | 45 (26) | 154 (33) | 59 (38) | |||
| Not at All | 131 (22) | 51 (29) | 165 (35) | 58 (37) | |||
| Noticed calorie information in restaurant: | 0.15 | 0.47 | |||||
| Yes | 189 (32) | 61 (35) | 119 (25) | 41 (26) | |||
| No | 371 (63) | 99 (56) | 294 (62) | 89 (57) | |||
| Unsure | 33 (6) | 16 (9) | 60 (13) | 25 (16) | |||
| Estimate of daily sodium recommendation: | <0.001 | 0.07 | |||||
| Accurate (1000–3000 mg/day) | 98 (17) | 55 (31) | 137 (29) | 59 (38) | |||
| Underestimated (<1000 mg/day) | 486 (82) | 118 (67) | 314 (66) | 92 (59) | |||
| Overestimated (>3000 mg/day) | 9 (2) | 3 (2) | 22 (5) | 4 (3) | |||
Note: Boldface indicates statistical significance (p<0.05).