Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Dietary Sodium in College Students

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health
• Health Behavior

Background:

• Dietary sodium intake is a significant public health concern linked to hypertension.
• Assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) is crucial for designing effective dietary interventions.
• Validated surveys are essential for accurate assessment of dietary behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a previously validated dietary sodium survey in a US college student population.
• To assess college students' knowledge, attitudes, and practices concerning dietary sodium.
• To inform future dietary sodium intervention strategies.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted with college students from Midwest (n=168) and Pacific Island (n=152) universities.
• A 38-item survey assessed knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to dietary sodium.
• Statistical analyses included t-tests and ANOVA to compare group differences.

Main Results:

• College students exhibited unfavorable scores (<75%) across all measured constructs: knowledge (58.69% Midwest, 57.54% Pacific Island), attitudes (63.96% Midwest, 64.84% Pacific Island), and practices (66.00% Midwest, 64.94% Pacific Island).
• No significant differences in KAP scores were observed between the Midwest and Pacific Island university student groups.
• Demographic data indicated diverse student populations, with Midwest students primarily non-Hispanic White and Pacific Island students predominantly Asian.

Conclusions:

• US college students possess inadequate knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding dietary sodium.
• The findings suggest the need for culturally tailored and targeted educational strategies to improve sodium awareness and behaviors.
• This formative research provides a basis for developing more effective assessment tools and interventions for dietary sodium reduction.