Strategic Sodium Reduction Initiative Reduces Sodium in Meals Served at Older Adult Congregate Meal Program Sites

Abstract

Excessive sodium consumption is a public health issue and congregate meal programs provide a unique opportunity to reduce sodium served to a large, at-risk population. A Sodium Reduction Initiative (SRI) was implemented in a congregate meal program that serves over 3,000 older adults. Nutrient analyses conducted at baseline and post-intervention were used to calculate average sodium reduction and the number of low sodium foods; targeted foods were categorized by strategy. Customer satisfaction surveys were collected at baseline and 3- and 6-months post-intervention. Kruskal Wallis and analysis of variance were used to compare sodium reduction differences. Chi-square analysis determined associations among strategies. The SRI impacted 55 foods, low sodium foods increased by 22%, and the average sodium per menu cycle was reduced by 21%. Replacement with a lower sodium food was the most frequently used strategy and had the largest sodium reduction. Sauces and main entrees were most frequently impacted, and thirteen ingredients accounted for 75% of all reduced-sodium foods. Over 50% of the 1,424 survey respondents consumed the reduced-sodium foods and food satisfaction remained stable from baseline to post-intervention. Congregate meals programs that target commonly used foods and key ingredients can significantly reduce sodium served to older adults.

Keywords:

• Sodium
• congregate meals
• older adults
• strategies

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the community, worksite, and congregate partners who collaborated in designing, implementing, and evaluating this project. We would also like to thank the research team and data collectors that diligently worked on this project.

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC-RFA-DP13-1301).