Customers' Perceptions of Operational Status of and Needs for Sodium Reduction in the Industry Foodservice in Seoul

Na-Young Yi
2020 Korean Journal of Community Nutrition  
Objectives: This study aimed to compare customers' perceptions of the need for a lowsodium diet and sodium-reduced operations in the industry foodservice by age. The relationships between health concerns and perceptions of the need for sodium-reduced operations and low-sodium diets in the industry foodservice were analyzed. Methods: A survey was conducted among 340 industry foodservice customers aged 20-50 years and residing in Seoul, Korea. This study investigated the respondents' health
more » ... ns, their perception of the need for sodium-reduced foodservice operations, their perception of a sodium-reduced diet, and the general details of the foodservices they used. A cross-tabulation analysis and ANOVA were performed to identify differences in measurement items by age, and a simple regression analysis was performed to examine relationships between measurement items. Results: For the customers' perception of the need for a sodium-reduced foodservice operation, the item "it is necessary to provide separate spices and sauces to reduce sodium intake" achieved the highest score (3.88 points out of a possible 5 points). For the perception of a sodium-reduced diet, the item "I think it is helpful for one's health" obtained the highest score (4.13 points). Respondents' health concerns had a positive effect on increasing the level of perception of the need for sodium-reduced foodservice operations and that of a sodium-reduced diet. Conclusions: Foodservice nutritionists could help enhance their customers' perceptions of the needs for sodium-reduced foodservice operations and sodium-reduced diets by frequently providing them with sodium-related health information. Korean J Community Nutr 25(1): 21~31, 2020
doi:10.5720/kjcn.2020.25.1.21 fatcat:zsaut2qtpjfzhes2vbwd574lfq