Liking and taste responsiveness across PROP-taster groups in children

Abstract

Overweight and obesity and the associated health risks are a growing concern globally. Research has shown that people who are obese early in life and especially in preadolescence have a high risk of also being obese in adulthood. It is therefore extremely important to form healthy food habits from childhood.

The objective of this thesis is to investigate the associations between children’s taste intensity perception and their hedonic responses. This was done by highlighting taste responsiveness, PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil) responsiveness, stated and actual liking of foods, as well as food familiarity. 148 preadolescences aged 11 to 13 years old completed a sensory consumer test at schools where instructions were given from a remote location. The participants answered a questionnaire about familiarity and stated liking of 28 food items. The children also performed a tasting of four samples of grapefruit juice with different levels of sugar added, and four samples of vegetable broth samples with different levels of salt added. Samples were tasted twice, once for liking and once for taste responsiveness, respectively. PROP responsiveness was recorded using a paper disc test.

The results showed a significant and positive correlation between stated liking and familiarity of the 28 food items. When tasting samples, children reported differences in liking of grapefruit juice samples; the samples were more liked as sugar content rose. For vegetable broth samples, no differences in liking were recorded between samples across children, but PROP phenotypes liked vegetable broth samples significantly different, with non-tasters liking samples significantly more than the other PROP phenotype groups. Several differences in taste responsiveness were found between PROP phenotypes, both for basic taste responsiveness and liking of samples. Familiarity, responsiveness to sweet taste and PROP responsiveness were significant in predicting liking of grapefruit juice samples.

The results from this study add to the understanding of food choices in children in relation to taste sensitivity perception, familiarity, and how remote testing can be utilized in sensory evaluation with preadolescents.

Overvekt og fedme og tilknyttede helseproblemer er et økende problem over hele verden. Forskning har vist at mennesker med fedme tidlig i livet og spesielt tidlig i ungdomstiden har høy risiko for å ha fedme også i voksen alder. Dermed er det ekstremt viktig å skape sunne matvaner fra barndommen. Målet med denne oppgaven er å undersøke sammenhengene mellom hvordan barn opplever smak og deres hedoniske respons. Dette ble gjort ved å legge vekt på barnas smaksrespons, respons for PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil), oppgitt og opplevd liking av matvarer, og kjennskap til matvarer. 148 barn fra 11 til 13 år (tidlig ungdom) deltok i en sensorisk forbrukerundersøkelse gjennomført på skoler hvor instruksjoner ble gitt fra en ekstern lokasjon. Deltakerne svarte på en spørreundersøkelse hvor de ble spurt om kjennskap til og oppgitt liking av 28 matvarer. De gjennomførte også en smakstest av fire prøver med grapefruktjuice tilsatt ulike mengder sukker, og fire prøver med grønnsaksbuljong tilsatt ulike mengder salt. Prøvene ble smakt på to ganger, en gang for liking og en gang for å registrere smakssensitivitet. PROP respons ble registrert gjennom en papirdisktest.