Knowledge, attitudes and eating habits of teenagers with respect to salt in their diet

Secondary school children′s knowledge, attitudes and eating habits towards dietary salt (NaC1) were measured by self‐completed questionnaires in schools in Nottinghamshire (East Midlands of England) and analysed on the basis of age and sex. The results showed that a very high proportion (86 to 98 per cent) of children (both boys and girls) add salt to foods, with approximately 70 per cent of the younger children adding salt before tasting. The most popular food to which salt was added was chips (94 per cent of all children) and the least popular were pasta, soup and salad. The majority of the children perceived their own salt intake as medium in level, but this perception did not discriminate between added salt and salt present in processed food, about which their knowledge was fairly poor. Comparison of the sodium (Na) content of pastry samples produced by an in‐house recipe in several Nottingham schools showed them to vary five‐fold, but in every case except one they were lower than the Na level of a commercial pastry mix marketed to school meals authorities. Consideration should be given to a substantial reduction in Na contents of a range of both in‐house recipe foods and prepacked processed foods provided to children in school meals.