Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice on Salt and Assessment of Dietary Salt and Fat Intake among University of Sharjah Students

Cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of deaths in the United Arab Emirates and reducing dietary salt intake is recommended to improve the population's health. a cross-sectional survey was given to 401 students from the University of Sharjah to investigate knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to dietary salt intake and a 24-h dietary recall among a subsample of 122 students, to assess the dietary intake of total fat, cholesterol, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium. findings indicated low salt-related knowledge scores among students (17 out of 30), high prevalence of overweight (28%), obesity (14%), hypertension stage 1 (31%), and hypertension stage 2 (20%). The results also revealed a high percentage of students exceeding the recommended intake of total fat (48%), saturated fat (90%), trans fat (64%), and sodium (89%), and all students not meeting potassium recommendations. culture-specific awareness campaigns on salt and fat intake and their association with health are needed.