Physical assessment
Weight was measured using an electronic TANITA weighing scales
and height was measured using a Seca Leicester measure. BMI was calculated
as kg/m2 (WHO, 2000). Participants were classified as underweight
(BMI ≤18.49 kg/m2),normal (BMI = 18.50–24.99 kg/m2),
overweight (BMI = 25.00–29.99 kg/m2) or obese (BMI ≥30.00 kg/m2)
(WHO, 2000). Midway waist circumference was measured using a Seca
200 measuring tape. Participants were classified as centrally obese if
their midway waist circumference was recorded at ≥94 cm for men
and ≥80 cm for women (WHO, 2008).
Resting blood pressure was measured using the Omron M7 digital
blood pressuremonitor. At a seated state, three readingswere recorded
from each participant on their right arm. Resting blood pressure was
based on the average of the 2nd and 3rd readings. A participant was
identified as hypertensive if their average systolic was ≥140 mm Hg or
average diastolic was ≥90 mm Hg based on the American Heart
Association guidelines (Pickering et al., 2005).
Spot urine samples were obtained for analyses of sodium excretion
(Perry et al., 2010). Each participant provided one earlymorning sample
and one evening sample, taken 12 hours apart. Daily average salt intakes
were estimated based on the average between both samples and compared
to the upper tolerable limit of 6 g/day for Irish populations
based on the national guidelines (FSAI, 2005).