Grant: Project Grant

Canadians consume large amounts of sodium, which increases their risk for heart disease and stroke. Strategies that support Canadians in following a lower sodium diet, like Canada's Food Guide, follow the idea that behaviour change can be achieved by increasing knowledge, alone. Yet, knowledge is only one part of behaviour change, which has shown minimal impact on sodium reduction to date. Therefore, it is important to understand the many internal and external factors related to sodium intake among Canadians to better inform sodium reduction strategies. Most research on factors that impact Canadians' sodium intake is old (>10 years). It is unknown if these factors have changed over time, with the adoption of Canada's Sodium Reduction Strategy in 2010. Importantly, the research that has been conducted in Canada has been limited. The surveys administered in the past mostly focused on informing policies for sodium, and it did not study how and why people behave the way they do, and what some of the barriers and motivators are to following a lower sodium diet. Our team will conduct research to deepen our understanding of what factors impact a person's sodium intake and food choices. We will develop a survey capturing the contextual (e.g., health literacy) and behavioural (e.g., perceived risks of sodium, attitudes towards sodium, intention to reduce sodium) factors related to sodium intake. The survey will be administered to 3380 Canadian adults, who will also complete diet recalls so that we can estimate how much sodium they eat. This data will allow us to 1) monitor changes in key factors of sodium intake over a 10-year time frame, 2) assess the behavioural and contextual factors impacting sodium intake among Canadian adults, and 3) determine whether these factors are associated with lower sodium intakes. This research will be the first of its kind. It will help us develop better strategies to support people in reducing their sodium intake.