## 6 Discussion
### What This Study Adds  
Our study's findings add to existing findings on the underconsumption of fruit amongst the Bangladesh population. Low fruit intake could be attributed to lack of availability and high cost, as well as lack of social support for the consumption of fruit [58]. Although a high proportion of participants in the study recognized a positive correlation between salt intake and blood pressure, only one-third of the participants reported that they strongly considered reducing raw salt intake in their diet. Positive perceptions of salt use in cultural foods or the perceived health benefits of salt consumption could explain the non-intention to reduce salt intake [59]. Whilst studies have demonstrated the correlation between level of education and wealth with behavior amongst Bangladesh people [57], this study further highlights the link between the type of employment, a social determinant of health, with knowledge and health behavior. Furthermore, this study highlights that participants with higher education and socio-economic status were more likely to have knowledge about health and were more likely to consider translating this knowledge into practice, such as reducing raw salt intake among people with a higher education. Applying health knowledge to health behavior depends on various factors, including individual skills and context [60]. In our study, higher education was found to be associated with reduced salt and higher fruit consumptions, which is consistent with previous studies [61; 62; 63] Higher education is a critical element in managing health. Behavioral change requires individuals to have the \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Systolic Blood Pressure**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Diastolic Blood Pressure**} \\ \hline  & **No at Risk** & **Mean (95\% CI)** & & **Mean (95\% CI)** & \\ \hline  & & \multicolumn{2}{c}{_p-Value_} & & _p-Value_ \\ \hline Total & 307 & 148.9 (146.8, 150.9) & & 89.9 (88.8, 90.9) & \\ No raw Salt consumption & 66 & 149 (144.8, 153.2) & 0.94 & 89.3 (87.3, 91.4) & 0.62 \\ Regular salt consumption & 241 & 148.8 (146.4, 151.2) & & 90.0 (88.7, 91.3) & \\ Fruit consumption maximum & 46 & 146.8 (142.4, 151.3) & & 89.5 (87.3, 91.6) & \\
1–2 times per week & 254 & 149.2 (146.9, 151.6) & 0.73 & 89.9 (88.6, 91.1) & 0.86 \\ Almost no fruit consumption & 7 & 148.8 (129.5, 168.1) & & 91.6 (80.3, 103) & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 5: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure by raw salt and fruit consumptions. ability to acquire health information to inform healthy decision-making [64], to translate health information into healthy behavior as a result of understanding [65], to possess skills to apply health knowledge in different contexts [60; 66]; and to interact with the healthcare system [67]. Our study did not find an association of raw salt intake and fruit consumption with blood pressure. Some studies in Bangladesh identified three major dietary patterns from food frequency data, including a balanced diet, characterized by rice, some meat, small fish, fruits, and vegetables which was associated with lowering blood pressure, compared to dietary patterns comprised of animal protein, associated with elevated blood pressure [68; 69]. These findings suggest the critical role of dietary habits in managing hypertension in a low-income population. Our study did not objectively measure any dietary patterns from similar food frequency data and failed to provide a direct comparison. However, our study reports that people with higher education were associated with a lower level of salt consumption. Higher education was previously reported to be associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension, indicating that this could be a similar mechanism of lowering blood pressure by consuming a healthy diet in rural Bangladesh.