Abstract:

Objective To understand the sodium content labeling of prepackaged food sold on campus at a medical college in Xinjiang，as well as the salt cognition and related behaviors of college students，in order to provide scientific basis for guiding consumers to eat healthily. Methods In April 2023，a convenience sampling method was used to take photos of the nutrition labels of prepackaged food sold in a supermarket at a medical university in Xinjiang. The nutrition labels were judged according to national standards. At the same time，a cluster random sampling method was used to select some college students as survey subjects. A questionnaire was distributed through the Wenjuanxing platform to investigate their salt awareness，and the data were analyzed. Results This study included 13 categories and a total of 1 220 pre-packaged food nutrition label samples，of which 1 195 samples indicated sodium content，with low-sodium foods accounted for 32.4%，and medium-sodium and high-sodium foods accounted for 67.6%. Among them，condiments had the highest overall sodium content，reaching 2 260 mg/100 g. The sodium content of dairy products and products，beverages，and sugar and candied fruits was generally low，among which sugar and candied fruits had the lowest sodium content，at 20 mg/100 g. In the questionnaire survey analysis，240 people（72.9%） understood that excessive salt intake is harmful to the body，163 people（49.5%） would check the nutrition label when purchasing pre-packaged food，160 people（48.6%） paid attention to the sodium content in the nutrition label，and 241 people（73.3%） thought it is necessary to label the nutrition label of pre-packaged food. There were statistically significant differences in the attitudes of students of different genders towards salt diet，such as "whether pre-packaged food should be labeled with sodium content"，"if the salt intake situation is not in line with a healthy diet，will it be actively changed"，and "whether this survey will increase the attention paid to the sodium content of pre-packaged food"（all P<0.05）. Conclusion The sodium content of prepackaged food sold in school at a medical college in Xinjiangis still at a high level，so we should continue to strengthen the implementation of sodium reduction （salt）. College students lack knowledge about nutrition labels and related nutrition. It is necessary to strengthen the publicity of nutrition labels and high-salt diet hazards of prepackaged food to promote a healthy diet.

Key words: Sodium, Nutrition labeling, Prepackaged foods