1. Introduction
death, ’s behavior, Hypertension, eating ramen, after-meal fullness
HYPERTENSION
Salt reduction is a public health priority for the Japanese population. We focused on the effect of salt reduction by changing eating utensils to reduce salt consumption. As a test meal, we used ramen, which is commonly eaten by Japanese individuals and has a high salt content. In this randomized crossover study, we hypothesized that eating ramen with a perforated spoon would reduce the quantity of ramen soup and salt consumed compared to using a regular spoon without holes. Soup intake, after-meal fullness, and deliciousness were compared between eating with chopsticks and a regular spoon, and with chopsticks and a perforated spoon. In total, 36 male university students (mean age, 20.7 [standard deviation, 1.8] years) were included in the analyses. The median salt intake (25th and 75th percentiles) was significantly lower with perforated spoons (1.8 [1.5, 4.3] g) than with regular spoons (2.4 [1.8, 4.8] g; Hypertension is a cardiovascular disease-related risk factor that increases the risk of death [In recent years, many interventions have used nudges, defined as “a behaviorally informed intervention usually made by changing the choices presented to an individual (i.e., choice architecture), which alters people’s behavior in a predictable way” [Nudges with ingenious utensils are related to behaviorally oriented nudges. In a study comparing the amount of sugar added to tea with a regular spoon and a small spoon, 27% less sugar consumption was reported when the small spoon was used [Therefore, we centered our research on the effect of salt reduction by changing eating utensils to reduce salt consumption. We focused on ramen, which is commonly eaten by Japanese people [