J Am Diet Assoc
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Achieving the salt intake target of 6 g/day in the current food supply in free-living adults using two dietary education strategies.
There are national targets for salt intake of 6 g salt/day in Australia and the United States. Despite this, there is limited knowledge about the effectiveness of dietary education in reducing salt intake to this level. The objective of this study was to investigate whether dietary education enabled a reduction in salt consumption. ⋯ After 8 weeks, urinary sodium excretion decreased from 121+/-50 to 106+/-47 mmol/24 hours (7.3+/-3.0 to 6.4+/-2.8 g salt/24 hours) in the Tick group and from 132+/-44 to 98+/-50 mmol/24 hours (7.9+/-2.6 to 6.0+/-3.0 g salt/24 hours) in the Food Standards Australia New Zealand group (P<0.05, with no between-group difference). Barriers to salt reduction were limited variety and food choice, difficulty when eating out, and increased time associated with identifying foods. In conclusion, dietary sodium reduction is possible among free-living individuals who received dietary advice.