Percepciones y conocimientos acerca de la sal, el sodio y la salud en adultos de clase media de la provincia de San José, Costa Rica / Perceptions and knowledge about salt, sodium and health in middle-class adults living in San José, Costa Rica

En el ámbito mundial se realizan acciones para desarrollar e implementar estrategias que permitan la reducción del consumo de sal/sodio y de esta manera disminuir la prevalencia de hipertensión arterial (HTA) y de enfermedades cardiovasculares (ECV). El objetivo de la investigación fue explorar las percepciones y los conocimientos acerca de la sal, el sodio y la salud de los adultos de clase media de la zona urbana de la provincia de San José; con el fin de proporcionar información para el desarrollo de estrategias educativas. Se realizaron entrevistas (formulario precodificado en el Anexo 1) a 400 personas entre 40 y 55 años de edad de clase media, subdividida en tres subestratos (alto, medio y bajo). Se analizaron frecuencias y se aplicó la prueba de Chi cuadrada. Se encontró que las personas no se sienten en riesgo de desarrollar HTA independientemente del subestrato socioeconómico (p>0,05) y 68% de éstas no consideró un exceso en el consumo de sal/sodio. Además, 70% no tenían conocimiento sobre la relación entre sal y sodio y hubo asociación (p<0,05) entre la subdivisión del estrato socioeconómico y el conocimiento de esta relación. Además, poseían un conocimiento calificado como medio acerca del riesgo del consumo excesivo de sal/sodio y de los beneficios de la disminución de su ingesta. Se concluyó que existen vacíos de conocimientos en la población de Costa-Rica y que es necesario desarrollar estrategias educativas basadas en la situación actual, acompañadas por intervenciones que impacten a las personas en riesgo y cambien sus hábitos de alimentación.

Organizations and governments globally are making great efforts to develop strategies to reduce population salt intake, and thus reduce the prevalence of hypertension and CVD. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions and knowledge about salt, sodium and their effects on health of adults of middle income in the urban area of San José; in order to provide information for the development of educational strategies. Four hundred interviews to subjects between 40 to 55 years old, belonging to middle income socioeconomics strata, sub-divided into three levels (high, medium and low) were performed. Frequencies analyses were performed, and the Chi-square test was applied. We found that people felt that they are not at risk of developing hypertension regardless of the sub-middle socioeconomic strata (p> 0.05) and 68% of individuals did not consider that their consumption of salt and/or sodium was excessive. In addition, 70% of subjects had no knowledge about the relationship between salt and sodium, and an association (p <0.05) between the sub-division of the socioeconomic status and knowledge about this relationship was found. Individuals had an average knowledge about the risk of excessive salt/sodium consumption and the benefits of reduced intake. It was concluded that there is a knowledge gap in subjects and there is a need for developing initiatives to reduce salt/sodium intake, shocking enough to make people be more aware of their risk and change their eating habits.

The salt content of products from popular fast-food chains in Costa Rica.

Salt is a major determinant of population blood pressure levels. Salt intake in Costa Rica is above levels required for good health. With an increasing number of Costa Ricans visiting fast food restaurants, it is likely that fast-food is contributing to daily salt intake. Salt content data from seven popular fast food chains in Costa Rica were collected in January 2013. Products were classified into 10 categories. Mean salt content was compared between chains and categories. Statistical analysis was performed using Welch ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer HSD tests. Significant differences were found between companies; Subway products had lowest mean salt content (0.97 g/100 g; p < 0.05) while Popeye's and KFC had the highest (1.57 g/100 g; p < 0.05). Significant variations in mean salt content were observed between categories. Salads had a mean salt content of 0.45 g/100 g while sauces had 2.16 g/100 g (p < 0.05). Wide variation in salt content was also seen within food categories. Salt content in sandwiches ranged from 0.5 to 2.1 g/100 g. The high levels and wide variation in salt content of fast food products in Costa Rica suggest that salt reduction is likely to be technically feasible in many cases. With an increasing number of consumers purchasing fast foods, even small improvements in salt levels could produce important health gains.

[Perceptions and knowledge about salt, sodium and health in middle-class adults living in San José, Costa Rica]. / Percepciones y conocimientos acerca de la sal, el sodio y la salud en adultos de clase media de la provincia de San José, Costa Rica.

Organizations and governments globally are making great efforts to develop strategies to reduce population salt intake, and thus reduce the prevalence of hypertension and CVD. The objective of this study was to explore the perceptions and knowledge about salt, sodium and their effects on health of adults of middle income in the urban area of San José; in order to provide information for the development of educational strategies. Four hundred interviews to subjects between 40 to 55 years old, belonging to middle income socioeconomics strata, sub-divided into three levels (high, medium and low) were performed. Frequencies analyses were performed, and the Chi-square test was applied. We found that people felt that they are not at risk of developing hypertension regardless of the sub-middle socioeconomic strata (p > 0.05) and 68% of individuals did not consider that their consumption of salt and/or sodium was excessive. In addition, 70% of subjects had no knowledge about the relationship between salt and sodium, and an association (p < 0.05) between the sub-division of the socioeconomic status and knowledge about this relationship was found. Individuals had an average knowledge about the risk of excessive salt/sodium consumption and the benefits of reduced intake. It was concluded that there is a knowledge gap in subjects and there is a need for developing initiatives to reduce salt/sodium intake, shocking enough to make people be more aware of their risk and change their eating habits.