Table 2.
Self-reported salt use behaviour, fruit and vegetable consumption and the type of fat and oil used in cooking, in seven low-and middle-income countries (n = 24,332), by sex a
| Overall Percentage (95% CI) |
Male Percentage (95% CI) |
Female Percentage (95% CI) |
p-value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salt use behaviour | ||||
| Positive salt behaviour (> 50%) | 29.27 (26.75, 31.93) | 27.19 (24.60, 29.95) | 31.34 (28.61, 34.21) | < 0.001 |
| Specific salt behaviours | ||||
| Add salt to meal | < 0.001 | |||
| Always | 8.44 (7.64, 9.32) | 9.39 (8.26, 10.66) | 7.50 (6.74, 8.33) | |
| Often | 5.28 (4.76, 5.85) | 5.27 (4.62, 6.01) | 5.28 (4.69, 5.95) | |
| Sometimes | 17.35 (16.45, 18.28) | 18.09 (16.86, 19.39) | 16.61 (15.60, 17.67) | |
| Rarely | 15.83 (14.58, 17.16) | 16.17 (14.64, 17.82) | 15.49 (14.16, 16.93) | |
| Never | 53.10 (50.92, 55.27) | 51.08 (48.69, 53.47) | 55.11 (52.76, 57.44) | |
| Add salt during cooking | 0.26 | |||
| Always | 63.78 (61.88, 65.65) | 63.48 (61.28, 65.62) | 64.09 (62.07, 66.06) | |
| Often | 7.62 (6.95, 8.35) | 7.58 (6.72, 8.53) | 7.67 (6.96, 8.45) | |
| Sometimes | 11.34 (10.50, 12.24) | 11.74 (10.65, 12.92) | 10.95 (10.05, 11.92) | |
| Rarely | 7.59 (6.91, 8.32) | 7.21 (6.35, 8.18) | 7.95 (7.20, 8.78) | |
| Never | 9.67 (8.75, 10.67) | 10.00 (8.84, 11.29) | 9.34 (8.39, 10.38) | |
| Limit Processed foods to reduce salt | ||||
| Yes | 43.3 (40.94, 45.70) | 42.35 (39.78, 44.96) | 44.25 (41.67, 46.87) | 0.07 |
| Look at salt content on food labels | ||||
| Yes | 18.03 (16.71, 19.42) | 16.96 (15.51, 18.51) | 19.09 (17.56, 20.72) | 0.01 |
| Buy low salt alternatives | ||||
| Yes | 18.16 (16.69, 19.72) | 16.81 (15.17, 18.59) | 19.49 (17.89, 21.21) | < 0.001 |
| Use other spices | ||||
| Yes | 32.94 (29.72, 36.34) | 31.24 (28.16, 34.48) | 34.64 (31.00, 38.64) | < 0.001 |
| Avoid eating foods prepared outside of home | ||||
| Yes | 34.05 (31.92, 36.24) | 31.34 (29.12, 33.65) | 36.74 (34.36, 39.19) | < 0.001 |
| Fruit and vegetable consumption | ||||
| Met WHO guidelines (400 g per day) | 14.01 (12.80, 15.32) | 14.81 (13.23, 16.55) | 13.21 (12.09, 14.43) | 0.02 |
| Fat and oil used in cooking | 0.45 | |||
| Vegetable | 93.39 (92.20, 94.40) | 92.95 (91.48, 94.19) | 93.81 (92.69, 94.77) | |
| Animal | 2.49 (2.02, 2.06) | 2.62 (2.00, 3.41) | 2.36 (1.92, 2.89) | |
| Other | 2.98 (2.14, 4.14) | 3.17 (2.15, 4.65) | 2.78 (2.04, 3.78) | |
| None in particular | 0.47 (0.36, 0.61) | 0.49 (0.33, 0.71) | 0.45 (0.33, 0.62) | |
| None | 0.69 (0.51, 0.91) | 0.77 (0.51, 0.12) | 0.60 (0.45, 0.80) | |
*p-value for difference between males and females
a Percent accounts for sampling design with survey weights re-scaled by the survey’s sample size such that all countries contribute equally to estimates. Differences between sexes tested using Pearson’s chi-squared test