Attitudes and Understanding of Sodium Claims on Food Labels

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Sodium-related claims on food labels should help people find lower sodium food choices; however consumer attitudes and understanding of such claims are unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate: 1) the attitudes and understanding to different types of permitted sodium claims and 2) the effect of hypertension on responses to such claims.

Official Title
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Consumer Attitudes and Understanding of Low Sodium Claims on Food: An Analysis of Healthy and Hypertensive Individuals

Conditions
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Hypertension

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Mock package questionnaire


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Primary grocery shoppers Canadian adults between the ages 20 to 69 years Exclusion Criteria: Did not have an email address or have access to internet

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years
Maximum Age: 69 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Canadian Consumer Monitor Panel<br>Canadian Consumer Monitor Panel is a online consumer monitor panel which answers surveys every 8-10 weeks about diet and health. | Behavioral: Mock package questionnaire<br>* Within a online questionnaire we exposed participants randomly to 4 mock packages differing only by the nutrition claim it carried and asked participants to answer several questions on attitudes and understanding after each mock package.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Response to survey questions measuring attitudes towards sodium claims using 5 point likert rating scales | Within an online survey, participants were exposed to 4 mock soup packages that differed only by the claim it carried. After being exposed to each mock package, participants were asked to rate their perceived attractiveness, healthiness, credibility, usefulness of the tested sodium claims using 5 point likert scales. Participants were also asked to rate their purchasing intentions of the mock soup product with the different sodium claims. | On average the survey took 25 minutes to complete | 
| Response to survey questions evaluating participants understanding of sodium claims | After each mock package, understanding of sodium claims was evaluated using various survey methods. First, participants were asked to rate their perceived clarity of the wording of the claim using a 5 point likert scale (a subjective measure of understanding). Second, participants were ask to rate, on 5 point likert scales, the perceived benefit of consuming the mock package for subgroups with different health conditions (an indirect measure of understanding). Finally we asked participants, in an open ended question, to explain what a claim means to a friend (an objective measure of understanding). | On average the survey took 25 minutes to complete | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Attitudes and understanding of sodium claims, General canadian population