Awareness of the Dangers of High Salt Intake among the Urban Omani Population

• Published in: Sultan Qaboos University medical journal 2020-08, Vol.20 (3), p.352-356
• Main Authors: Al-Abdulsalam , Qusay, Al-Riyami , Hassan, Nadar , Sunil K, Al-Mushrafi , Hilal, Al-Hashmi , Khamis, Al-Alawi , Ziyad, Al-Khayari , Ali
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Attitudes; Brief Communication; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Dogs; Education; Feeding Behavior; Female; Food; Gender; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Hypertension; Male; Nutrition research; NUTRITIONAL DISORDERS; OMAN; Osteoporosis; POPULATION; Questionnaires; RISK; Salt; SALTS; Social networks; SODIUM; Sodium, Dietary - adverse effects; Surveys and Questionnaires; Urban Population - statistics & numerical data; Variables; الأملاح; الإضطرابات الغذائية; السكان; الصوديوم; المخاطرة; عمان
• ISSN: 2075-051X; 2075-0528
• DOI: 10.18295/squmj.2020.20.03.016

Objectives : this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of the general public in Oman regarding the dangers of high salt intake. Methods : this cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted among the urban population in Oman. individuals aged ≥18 were invited to join the study. results : a total of 1,214 respondents (mean age 34 } 10 years) answered the questionnaire. the majority were male (65.8%), employed (69.4%) and some were hypertensive (14.3%). most (90.9%) were aware that excess salt can cause diseases such as hypertension and that it is either somewhat important (51.2%) or very important (42.9%) to reduce salt in the diet. however, only 42.2% said that they actively try to reduce salt in their diet. Conclusion : although most people in urban areas of Oman appear to be aware of the dangers of high salt intake, only a few are actively trying to reduce it. more educational activities are required to improve awareness.