ADOLESCENTS' KNOWLEDGE AND HABITS ABOUT THE PRESENTATION OF SALT IN FOOD
Keywords:
Health, salt intake, adolescents, knowledgeAbstract
The nutrition of young people is the basis for healthy development, maintenance and improvement of
health, and can be the cause of a disease or help prevent the occurrence of a disease. Adolescence is a time of rapid
growth, physical changes, and the formation of lifestyle habits, including eating habits. Increased sodium
consumption is associated with a number of non-communicable diseases, the most important of which are arterial
hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. In this study, the knowledge and attitudes of adolescents in
Sarajevo Canton about dietary salt were investigated. The research instrument is a modified questionnaire that was
completed by respondents in three educational institutions. The study included 183 respondents of both genders. The
results show that 82.5% of the total respondents in the study did not know much about salt and its negative effects
on the body, while 17.4% of the respondents reported knowing a lot about salt and the negative effects of salt on the
body. Young people's knowledge about the importance of salt differs statistically significantly with respect to age
groups. Of the total number of respondents, 116 respondents sometimes consume salty foods, of which 44.8% go to
elementary school, 28.4% go to secondary school, and 26.7% attend college. There is a significant difference in the
frequency of consumption of salty foods according to age. Based on our results, we can conclude that the knowledge
and habits about the harmfulness of salt in the study population are not at a level that would be satisfactory and that
educational programs for children and adolescents should be introduced
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