Preference of food saltiness and willingness to consume low-sodium content food in a Chinese population

Objective To compare the preference of food saltiness and the willingness to consume low-sodium food among hypertensive older people, non-hypertensive older people and non-hypertensive young people in a Chinese population. Design A cross-sectional study based on a quota sample. Three saltiness options (low-sodium, medium-sodium and high-sodium) of soup and bread were offered to each participant who rated the taste of each food on a 5-point Likert scale. Then, the participants rated their willingness to consume the low-sodium content foods on a 5-point Likert scale, given they were informed of the benefit of the low-sodium option. Generalised linear mixed model and multiple linear regression were used to analyse the data. Setting Elderly centres and community centres in Hong Kong. Participants Sixty hypertensive older people, 49 non-hypertensive older people and 60 non-hypertensive young people were recruited from June to August 2014. Measurements The tastiness score and the willingness score were the primary outcome measures. The Chinese Health Literacy Scale for Low Salt Consumption–Hong Kong population (CHLSalt-HK) was also assessed. Results The tastiness rating of the high-sodium option of soup was significantly lower than the medium-sodium option (p