Abstract
High salt consumption is a risk factor for many diseases. In this cross-sectional study, it was aimed to determine the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of adults about salt consumption and to evaluate their relationship with the habit of reading labels. The data of the study were collected by the "Salt Consumption Characteristics Questionnaire" and "Food Label Reading and Digital Literacy" scale and blood pressure measurement from 130 people determined by nonrandom sampling method in the cafeteria of a shopping mall in a city between August - November 2020. The median age of the participants was 40.0 years (28.00-55.75), 20 participants (15.40%) had a health problem requiring salt restriction, and 98 participants (75.40%) had to control their daily salt intake was doing nothing. While the most frequently read information on the food label was the expiration date (90 participants, 69.20%), 105 participiants (80.80%) had never looked at the salt-sodium level. Those who read the amount of salt-sodium on the food label had a tendency to control salt consumption (p = 0.004) and the mean knowledge score about salt was higher than those who did not read it (p≤0.001). It has been observed that the habit of reading food labels is not common enough in the society and the awareness of reducing daily salt consumption is low. Public awareness should be raised in order to reduce salt consumption.