Research shows educational campaigns on sodium are effective

There’s good and bad news on the sodium consumption front. Marketing researchers at the University of Arkansas have discovered that most Americans are unaware that their sodium intake is excessive - and, as we know, too much sodium contributes to cardiovascular disease. This probably isn’t news to most of us - but there is an upside to the research.

The study also found that educational campaigns about the effects of excessive sodium intake work. According to the researchers, consumers will modify their purchase intentions if they are given information on the effects of a high-sodium diet.

“Simply put, Americans consume too much salt,” said Scot Burton, a professor in the Sam M Walton College of Business. “Unfortunately, only approximately 20% of the US population currently consumes the recommended daily level.

“Reducing the daily intake of sodium from the average of more than 3400 mg down to the recommended level of 2300 mg could potentially prevent almost 100,000 deaths and 66,000 strokes per year while saving billions of dollars in healthcare costs.”

The study found that non-hypertensive consumers did not consider sodium content when selecting restaurant food, whereas hypertensive consumers paid some attention to sodium levels.

“While it is encouraging that hypertensive consumers pay some attention to sodium levels, it is worrisome that non-hypertensive consumers do not,” said Elizabeth Howlett, a marketing professor at Walton College. “Because the effects of excessive sodium intake are cumulative, many who are not yet diagnosed as hypertensive are probably not paying attention to how much salt they consume.”

“It is important that all consumers, especially those middle-aged and older, limit their consumption of salty foods, so I think these studies suggest that many consumers would benefit from a better understanding of the cumulative and negative health effects of excessive sodium intake.”

Don’t worry - the good news is yet to come. When it came to packaged foods, the researchers found that providing educational materials about the negative health effects of sodium was associated with a decrease in purchase intentions and an increase in perceptions about the risk of cardiovascular disease for higher sodium products. This was true for both hypertensive and non-hypertensive consumers.

“This research confirmed notions that an education campaign could benefit all consumers by raising their consideration of sodium content information,” Howlett said.

Burton and Howlett conducted the research with Andrea Tangari from Wayne State University and Myla Bui of Loyola Marymount University. The group published its findings in the American Marketing Association’s Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.

For more information on sodium reduction, read our article ‘With a pinch of salt: reducing salt in processed foods’, where we look at the issues of reducing salt in processed foods.