Table 3

Comparison of salt-related attitudes between parents/caregivers (n=840) and other adults (n=1558)

Parents/caregivers of a
child/children <18 years of age*		P value
OR (95% CI)
Concerned† about food-related issues in diet
Healthy eating 1.24 (1.10 to 2.11) 0.001
Amount of sugar in food 2.27 (1.51 to 3.23) < 0.001
Amount of salt in food 1.41 (1.08 to 1.84) 0.011
Amount of fat in food 1.78 (1.33 to 2.64) < 0.001
Amount of saturated fat in food 2.09 (1.48 to 2.96) < 0.001
Amount of kilojoules/calories in food 1.31 (1.04 to 1.65) 0.019
Agree‡ with salt-related attitude statements
I believe salt needs to be added to food to make it tasty.1.12 (0.93 to 1.36)0.225
My health would improve if I reduced amount of salt in diet.1.16 (0.96 to 1.40)0.116
It is hard to understand sodium information displayed on food labels. 1.36 (1.10 to 1.62) 0.004
Lower salt options not available when I eat out at restaurants/pubs/cafes.1.03 (0.86 to 1.33)0.617
Should be laws that limit amount of salt added to manufactured foods.1.07 (0.89 to 1.29)0.459
Group responsible§ for reducing the amount of salt Australians eat
Government0.98 (0.75 to 1.29)0.902
Food manufacturers1.36 (0.89 to 2.10)0.173
Business (eg, supermarkets, local markets)1.03 (0.81 to 1.32)0.764
Chefs preparing foods in restaurants/pubs/cafes1.37 (0.84 to 2.22)0.203
Friends/family1.01 (0.74 to 1.37)0.963
Yourself1.18 (0.41 to 3.42)0.759
Fast food chains1.11 (0.79 to 1.60)0.531

  • Bolded values represent significance at p<0.05.

  • Logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, country of birth, language spoken, socioeconomic status and weight category.

  • *Reference group is other adults who do not care for children <18 years of age.

  • †Includes ‘extremely concerned/very concerned/somewhat concerned’.

  • ‡Includes ‘responsible/very responsible/somewhat responsible’.

  • §Includes ‘strongly agree/agree’.