Salt content impacts food preferences and intake among children

This work was supported by a PhD grant from the Nutrition, Chemical Food Safety and Consumer Behavior Division of INRA (French National Institute for Agronomical Research, France) and the Regional Council of Burgundy (France) received by SB; and by a research grant (Gustolf) from Regional Council of Burgundy (France) received by SN. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Decreasing dietary sodium intake, which can be achieved by reducing salt content in food, is recommended. Salt contributes to the taste of foods and makes them more enjoyable. Whether a food is liked or disliked is an important determinant of food intake, especially among children. However, the role of salt in children's food acceptance has received little attention. The impact of salt content on children's hedonic rating and intake of two foods was investigated in children. Using a within-subject crossover design, we recruited 75 children (8–11 years) to participate in five lunches in their school cafeteria. The target foods were green beans and pasta. The added salt content was 0, 0.6 or 1.2 g/100 g. The children's intake (g) of all lunch items was measured. The children provided their hedonic rating of the food, a preference ranking and a saltiness ranking in the laboratory. Children could rank the foods according to salt content, and they preferred the two saltier options. A food-specific effect of salt content on intake was observed. Compared to the intermediate level (0.6 g salt/100 g), not adding salt decreased green bean intake (−21%; p = 0.002), and increasing the salt content increased pasta intake (+24%; p<0.0001). Structural Equation Modeling was used to model the relative weights of the determinants of intake. It showed that the primary driver of food intake was the child's hunger; the second most important factor was the child's hedonic rating of the food, regardless of its salt content, and the last factor was the child's preference for the particular salt content of the food. In conclusion, salt content has a positive and food-specific effect on intake; it impacted food preferences and intake differently in children. Taking into account children's preferences for salt instead of their intake may lead to excessive added salt

Preferences for fat and basic tastes in 3-, 6- and 12-month-old infants

Fat perception received recent interest, but fat preference in human infants is a matter of debate. The objective here was to investigate fat and taste preferences in the same infants (N= 66) at 3, 6 and 12 months. Preference for a fat solution (sunflower and rapeseed oils mixed with soy lecithin) and for taste solutions (sweet, lactose; salty, NaCl; bitter, urea; sour, citric acid; umami, sodium glutamate) was evaluated. The same method was applied at each age. Mothers and their infant participated in 2 videotaped sessions, during which the 5 taste and fat solutions were assessed in a balanced order. For each taste, 4 bottles (water, tastant, tastant and water) were presented by the experimenter.Twoglobal indices were calculated to represent acceptance of the tastant relatively to water (W), based on ingested volumes and on facial expressions. At 3 and 6 mo, the fat solution was as consumed as W; but less than W at 12 mo; at all ages it elicited ‘negative’ expressions. For taste solutions, at 3 mo the sweet solution was more and the bitter one wasless consumed thanW;the bitter and the sour solutions elicited ‘negative’ expressions. At 6 and 12 mo, the sweet and salty solutions were more consumed than W and elicited ‘positive’ expressions; the bitter and sour solutions elicited negative expressions. Infants were indifferent to the umami solution. These findings are in accordance with the literature on taste preference but the indifference or rejection of the fat solution raise questions about an ‘innate’ preference for fat. The olfactory component of fat might be involved in this rejection

Impact of the Use of a Teaching Toolbox in an Awareness Campaign on Children's Representations of Coral Reefs

Environmental education for children is one of the fundamental tools required to reverse the degradation of our environment and the biodiversity erosion. Currently coral reefs are part of the vulnerable ecosystems which are most threatened by human activities and climate change. Responding to these pressures demands decisions at multiple scales, based on solid knowledge of coral reefs but also on strengthened awareness to build adaptive management solutions. Here we evaluate the impact of an environmental awareness campaign for children using a teaching toolbox developed by scientists (MARECO “The Coral Reef In Our Hands”). To assess this impact before and after using the toolbox, we analyzed the evolution of children's representations of coral reefs through drawings. This study was carried out in New Caledonia, focusing on five elementary schools in different social and cultural contexts (urban, rural and coastal). Two hundred and forty-eight drawings were made by children. The drawings were analyzed quantitatively using multivariate statistical analyses which reveals a diversity of representations in children with diverse sociocultural profiles, but also between schools, emphasizing that relationships with nature and marine environment vary according to direct and indirect experiences related to reefs. Furthermore, our results pointed out relevant differences in coral reef representations before and after the use of MARECO, particularly regarding their knowledge of reef biodiversity associated with multicolored organisms and the connection of coral reef with environment, the number of colors being used as a proxy of this holistic vision developed by children. These results point out the performance of MARECO as a playful tool to transfer scientific knowledge to children. Coral reef conservation is intimately linked to an awareness in young generations of the environmental challenges of tomorrow. To be agents of change in a sustainable world, children must be engaged in a fun, rigorous, action-oriented and socially responsible learning process such as the ones developed in participatory approaches

Early determinants of food liking among 5y-old children: a longitudinal study from the EDEN mother-child cohort

International audienceAbstractBackgroundIdentifying the determinants of child’s liking for different foods may help to prevent future choices of unhealthy food.ObjectiveTo study early-life food-related characteristics associated with child’s liking for different foods at 5y with a longitudinal study.Design1142 5y- old children completed a liking test for “fruit and vegetables”, “meat, fish and eggs”, desserts and cheese. Data related to maternal food intake before pregnancy, infant feeding during the first year of life, maternal feeding practices at 2y, child’s food intake at 3y, and child’s food neophobia from 1 to 4y were collected prospectively from the mother. The associations between these factors and child‘s liking for each category of foods were analyzed using structural equation modelling.ResultsHigh food neophobia at 4 y was related to lower child’s liking for all food groups. Maternal feeding practices at 2y were associated with liking for dessert: negatively for the practices allowing child to control his/her own food intake, positively for restriction of child’s food intake for weight reasons. Moreover, child’s food intake at 3y was positively associated with child’s liking for “fruit and vegetables” as well as for cheese. Finally, adherence to the infant feeding pattern “long breastfeeding, later introduction of main meal components and use of home-made products” was positively associated with child’s liking for meat/fish/eggs.ConclusionsFor all food groups, food neophobia was a common determinant of child’s liking for food at 5y, whereas other factors were associated with food liking for specific food groups

Learning to Eat Vegetables in Early Life: The Role of Timing, Age and Individual Eating Traits

Vegetable intake is generally low among children, who appear to be especially fussy during the pre-school years. Repeated exposure is known to enhance intake of a novel vegetable in early life but individual differences in response to familiarisation have emerged from recent studies. In order to understand the factors which predict different responses to repeated exposure, data from the same experiment conducted in three groups of children from three countries (n = 332) aged 4–38 m (18.9±9.9 m) were combined and modelled. During the intervention period each child was given between 5 and 10 exposures to a novel vegetable (artichoke puree) in one of three versions (basic, sweet or added energy). Intake of basic artichoke puree was measured both before and after the exposure period. Overall, younger children consumed more artichoke than older children. Four distinct patterns of eating behaviour during the exposure period were defined. Most children were “learners” (40%) who increased intake over time. 21% consumed more than 75% of what was offered each time and were labelled “plate-clearers”. 16% were considered “non-eaters” eating less than 10 g by the 5th exposure and the remainder were classified as “others” (23%) since their pattern was highly variable. Age was a significant predictor of eating pattern, with older pre-school children more likely to be non-eaters. Plate-clearers had higher enjoyment of food and lower satiety responsiveness than non-eaters who scored highest on food fussiness. Children in the added energy condition showed the smallest change in intake over time, compared to those in the basic or sweetened artichoke condition. Clearly whilst repeated exposure familiarises children with a novel food, alternative strategies that focus on encouraging initial tastes of the target food might be needed for the fussier and older pre-school children

Seuil de détection d'une population, détermination par la méthode du modèle linéaire généralisé

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Statistical analysis of sensory profiling data. Graphs for presenting results (PCA and ANOVA)

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A simultaneous classification of products and descriptors before a grayscale representation of the profiles

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Des expositions répétées à un produit alimentaire nouveau permettent-elles une augmentation des préférences ?

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