Basic taste sensitivity, eating behaviour, food propensity and BMI of preadolescent children: How are they related?

Ervina Ervina; Ingunn Berget; Siv Borghild Skeie; Valérie L Almli

doi:10.12688/openreseurope.14117.3

Basic taste sensitivity, eating behaviour, food propensity and BMI of preadolescent children: How are they related?

Open Res Eur. 2024 Feb 2:1:127. doi: 10.12688/openreseurope.14117.3. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Ervina Ervina^{1

2

3}, Ingunn Berget⁴, Siv Borghild Skeie², Valérie L Almli^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Sensory and Consumer Sciences, Nofima, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Ås, 1430, Norway.
² Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science (KBM), The Norwegian University of Life Science, Ås, 1433, Norway.
³ Food Technology Department, Faculty of Engineering, Bina Nusantara University, Jakarta, 11480, Indonesia.
⁴ Department of Raw Materials and Process Optimization, Nofima, Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research, Ås, 1430, Norway.

Abstract

Background: Taste sensitivity has been reported to influence children's eating behaviour and contribute to their food preferences and intake. This study aimed to investigate the associations between taste sensitivity, eating behaviour, food frequency and BMI (Body Mass Index) in preadolescents.

Methods: Preadolescents' taste sensitivity was measured by detection threshold of sweetness (sucrose), sourness (citric acid), saltiness (sodium chloride), bitterness (caffeine, quinine), and umami (monosodium glutamate). In addition, the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ), the Food Propensity Questionnaire (FPQ) measuring food frequency, and the children's body weight and height were completed by the parents. A total of 69 child-parent dyads participated (preadolescents mean age =10.9 years).

Results: Taste sensitivity to caffeine bitterness was significantly associated with eating behaviour in food responsiveness, emotional overeating, and desire to drink. The preadolescents who were less sensitive to caffeine bitterness had higher food responsiveness scores. Those who were less sensitive to caffeine bitterness and to sweetness had higher emotional overeating scores. In addition, preadolescents who were less sensitive to sourness and bitterness of both caffeine and quinine demonstrated to have higher scores in desire to drink. There was no association between taste sensitivity and FPQ, but significant differences were observed across preadolescents' BMI for FPQ of dairy food items, indicating higher consumption of low-fat milk in the overweight/obese compared to the underweight/normal-weight subjects. There was no significant difference in taste sensitivity according to BMI. Preadolescents' eating behaviour differed across BMI, demonstrating a positive association between BMI and food approach, and a negative association between BMI and food avoidance.

Conclusions: This study contributes to the preliminary understanding of the relationships between taste sensitivity and eating behaviour in preadolescents. The results may be used to develop effective strategies to promote healthy eating practices by considering taste sensitivity in preadolescents.

Keywords: BMI; Basic tastes; Dairy foods; Detection threshold; Eating behaviour; Food propensity; Preadolescents.

Grants and funding

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No (764985). We also received financial support from the Norwegian Foundation for Research Levy on Agricultural Products (FFL) through the project “FoodForFuture” (project number NRC 314318).