The relationship of health/food literacy and salt awareness to daily sodium and potassium intake among a workplace population in Switzerland

Background and Aims High sodium (Na) and low potassium (K) intake are associated with hypertension and CVD risk. This study explored the associations of health literacy (HL), food literacy (FL), and salt awareness with salt intake, K intake, and Na/K ratio in a workplace intervention trial in Switzerland. Methods and Results The study acquired baseline data from 141 individuals, mean age 44.6 years. Na and K intake were estimated from a single 24-hour urine collection. We used validated instruments to assess HL and FL, and salt awareness. We used multiple linear regression to investigate the association of explanatory variables with salt intake, K intake, and Na/K. Mean daily salt intake was 8.9 g, K 3.1 g, and Na/K 1.18. Salt intake was associated with sex (p<0.001), and K intake with sex (p<0.001), age (p=0.02), and waist-to-height ratio (p=0.03), as was Na/K. HL index and FL score were not significantly associated with salt or K intake. The salt awareness variable “salt content impacts food/menu choice” was associated with salt intake (p=0.005). HL index and FL score were not significantly associated with salt or K intake, but the variable salt content impacts food/menu choice was associated with salt intake (p=0.005). Conclusion To achieve the established targets for population Na and K intake, health-related knowledge, abilities, and skills related to Na/salt and K intake need to be promoted through combined educational and structural interventions.