FDA consumer survey offers insights on low-salt foods, diets
The US Food and Drug Administration has just released its 2002 Health and Diet Survey, including questions on consumer attitudes towards low-sodium foods and diets. Fourteen percent of Americans claim their doctor has put them on a low-sodium diet. Assuming that these are all persons with high blood pressure, that represents about two-thirds of hypertensives.
The pollsters then asked those not on doctor-ordered low-salt diets about their attitudes towards reducing dietary sodium. They split half-and-half about whether reducing salt was a good idea (46% said there was no benefit for themselves) and only 22% reported any self-perceived success in reducing dietary sodium.
That wasn't because they were unaware of low-sodium processed foods; 88% are aware of this option. But only 15% buy even some low-sodium foods regularly (and that is probably generous given the natural propensity of survey responders to give the "correct" answer). More than half never or hardly ever buy low-sodium alternates.
The approach of so-called "consumer" groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest is to try to take away all consumer choice in the matter and permit food processors to market only salt-reduced foods.
