Development of taste and food preferences in children

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: There are concerns about the rising incidence of obesity in children and their acceptance of healthy foods. Many factors affect children's food acceptance, the most salient are those enabling early exposure to culturally appropriate foods in the weaning or pre-weaning period. Parents, however, have always observed individual differences in children's willingness to take new foods. This review looks at studies that encompass both exposure to and genetic determinants of food acceptance. RECENT FINDINGS: Children's willingness to take new foods and accept specific foods has strong-to-moderate heritability. This inherited willingness is moderated by cultural differences in early exposure to both the taste and texture of foods, giving rise to different patterns of food acceptance. Breast-feeding not only confers an advantage in food and taste acceptance but may also give rise to a preference for highly palatable 'junk food'. Modelling and flavour-conditioning may also contribute to food acceptance, whereas coaxing a child to eat may impact negatively on the intake of food. Children of obese mothers, however, react to prompting by overeating rather than food refusal. This may indicate another area where food acceptance is genetically determined. SUMMARY: Health intervention programmes that aim to promote a healthy diet in children should start at the weaning and, to a lesser extent, the pre-weaning stage, and target maternal diet for optimal effectiveness.     

社区老年人健康功能多维评价及影响因素

目的 评价福州市社区老年人的健康状况，并探讨影响健康的有关因素。方法 对1767名65岁及以上的老年人进行问卷调查，从日常生活功能、躯体健康、精神健康、社会健康和经济状况等5个基本方面对老年人健康功能状况进行多维评价。结果 研究对象中综合健康状况优良、一般和较差分别占总人数的47．1％，44．6％和8．3％。5项单维健康损害发生率介于37．7％和74％之间，其中躯体健康损害发生率最高。影响老年人健康水平的主要慢性病为高血压、心脏病和糖尿病。结论 慢性病防治、婚姻家庭生活、适度体育锻炼、科学膳食营养以及参与社会活动等均有益于社区老年人健康水平的提高。     

Dietary evaluation of patients with smell and/or taste disorders

The impact of smell and taste disorders on dietary habits and nutritional status has received limited research attention. This paper reports findings obtained from questionnaires and diet records completed by 40 healthy subjects and 118 patients with chemosensory dysfunction. Chemosensory disorders were frequently associated with decreases in food acceptability. Although dietary responses to these dysfunctions varied greatly, patients with distorted or phantom smell and/or taste sensations tended to report weight loss whereas those with simple sensory loss were more likely to report weight gain. Indices derived from diet records did not indicate that either group of patients was at substantial nutritional risk, but food frequency responses and estimates of body mass index were consistent with patient reports of changes in dietary patterns and weight. In addition, marked weight change and aberrant dietary practices were noted in individual patients. Thus, there were indications that chemosensory dysfunction may be associated with nutritionally important dietary alterations.     

Factors affecting the formation of food preferences in preschool children

It has been found that a complex and varied diet increases the probability that foods containing essential nutrients will be consumed by the pre-school child. Because variety in the diet is beneficial identification of factors that affect the development of food preferences in young children is important. Such factors include familiarity, age, parents, peers, teachers and programs designed to influence food habits. Each of these are discussed and recommendations are given to pre-school programs for creating an atmosphere conducive to trying new foods.     

Maintenance of weight loss using taste and smell sensations

The mechanism responsible for matching the intake and expenditure of nutrients in order to maintain body weight is not fully understood. Seven females learned to terminate the act of eating when the pleasantness of flavor of food subsided during a meal. By the end of 1 month, significant weight loss took place in the study group compared with the baseline weight (p < 0.01) and was maintained throughout the study period of 1 year. Focusing on the changes in oronasal sensory signals during a meal could facilitate weight maintenance.     

Socioeconomic,cultural, and behavioral factors affecting Hispanic health outcomes

Evidence suggests that social and economic factors are important determinants of health. Yet, despite higher porverty rates, less education, and worse access to health care, health outcomes of many Hispanics living in the United States today are equal to, or better than, those of non-Hispanic whites. This paradox is described in the literature as the epidemiological paradox or Hispanic health paradox. In this paper, the authors selectively review data and research supporting the existence of the epidemiological paradox. They find substantial support for the existence of the epidemiological paradox, particularly among Mexican Americans. Census undercounts of Hispanics, misclassification of Hispanic deaths, and emigration of Hispanics do not fully account for the epidemiological paradox. Identifying protective factors underlying the epidemiological paradox, while improving access to care and the economic conditions among Hispanics, are important research and policy implications of this review.     

Financial, organizational and professional factors affecting health care utilization

This paper explores the effects of specific provider and system features on patients' use of health care, including financial, time and organizational barriers, practice patterns and physician characteristics. The data are from a survey of 3058 family members and their usual providers in Washington, D.C. Findings indicate that a low-income practice clientele and high charges were the most significant deterrents to use, followed by absence of Medicaid, distance, limited hours and patient-sharing by physicians. Charges and distance had a disproportionate impact on the poor. The combined impact of structural barriers in hospital outpatient departments reduced access by roughly 50% compared with private settings. Policy implications are discussed.     

An experimental investigation of the influence of health information on children's taste preferences

Promotion of healthy diets often involves provision of information about which food types are most favourable for health. This is based on the assumption that the rational consumer will, other things being equal, choose the food that they know is healthier. However, health information may not always have a positive effect, since there is evidence that some people, particularly children, believe that healthiness and tastiness are mutually exclusive characteristics. To the extent that taste governs preferences and consumption, the characterization of a food as healthy could reduce its anticipated pleasantness. The present study tested the idea that a 'healthy' label would reduce liking for a novel drink. The results showed that the children rated a 'healthy labelled' drink as less pleasant and said they would be less likely to ask their parents to buy it than the same drink presented with control information. These results suggest that care may need to be exercised in promoting foods to children through an emphasis on health, unless the implications of healthiness can be rendered more positive.     

Children's food preferences and genetic sensitivity to the bitter taste of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP)

Genetic sensitivity to bitter taste may be associated with preference or rejection of some foods by children. Thirty-four children aged 5-7 y participated in the following assessments: a threshold test for 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), a scaling test to determine PROP sensitivity above threshold concentrations, a taste test of 11 foods and beverages with two methods of assessing preference (order of food selection and hedonic rating), and a verbally administered food-preference questionnaire. The 30 children who completed these tests successfully were classified as nontasters or tasters based on their PROP thresholds as well as their suprathreshold PROP functions. Analysis of variance showed significant differences in acceptance of cheese and milk for the two taste groups on one of the three preference tasks, selection of foods in order of preference. Tasters selected cheese later than did nontasters, suggesting that they like it less. Tasters selected milk earlier than did nontasters, suggesting that they like it more.     

患病群体的健康综合评价及其影响因素探讨

健康是一个复杂、多维的生物学和社会学现象 ,具有质和量的双重性 ,它包括生理健康、心理状态和社会功能三个维度 ,每个维度又包含多个范畴的内容。长期以来 ,人们多用发病率、死亡率、期望寿命等传统指标从生命数量角度对人群健康水平进行衡量 ,但一个良好的健康综合测量指标应能综合生命数量和生命质量的双重信息并概括健康的多维度内容 ,在此背景下 ,先后出现了用减寿人年数、无残疾期望寿命、失能调整生命年等指标 ,来评价疾病对人群健康的影响。随着人群对健康需求的提高以及健康观和医学模式的转变 ,人们越来越倾向于对人群健康状况作…     

Australian children's food and drink preferences: Implications for health professionals

Aim: Children's food and drink preferences play an important role in determining their consumption behaviours, but data pertaining to Australian children's preferences are lacking. The present study investigated children's preferences and health practitioners' assumptions relating to these preferences. Methods: Five hundred and twenty‐four Australian primary schoolchildren completed a written survey to explore their food and drink preferences and 576 health professionals (HPs) participated in an online survey to identify their perceptions of children's preferences. The traffic light system of food classification was used to determine the healthiness of the foods and drinks nominated as favourites by children and HPs. Data were analysed using chi‐square tests to assess the extent to which children's and HPs' responses differed. Differences according to socio‐demographic variables were investigated. Results: Children's reported preferences were healthier than HPs expected. Younger children had healthier preferences than their older peers, and girls chose healthier items than boys. Children from the medium socioeconomic schools preferred healthier foods compared with their low socioeconomic peers, but low socioeconomic children preferred healthier drinks compared to medium socioeconomic children. There were no differences between the HPs' results according to demographic variables. Conclusions: Given that children are reporting preferences for healthy options yet intakes of healthy foods are suboptimal among Australian children, efforts to improve the health status of Australian children should include strategies to encourage adults to make healthy foods and drinks more available and accessible.     

Initial events in stimulation of taste and smell receptor cells.

Analysis of the initial interactions of chemicals with olfactory and taste receptor cells is complicated by problems in controlling stimulus presentation. These interactions arise from chemicals diffusing through an unstirred layer to reach the cell surfaces and, in the case of olfaction, partitioning into mucus from air. In many instances, the odorants are metabolized to products that may be stimulants. In such cases, the analysis is further complicated by uncertainty about which chemical species actually stimulate. Stimulation of chemoreceptors can be thought of as originating from specific and nonspecific interactions of stimuli with the cells. Specific interactions involve receptor proteins in or on the cell membranes. These interactions are probably important in initiating sweet taste but not in detecting salty or sour stimuli. There are many reported preparations including putative olfactory receptor proteins, and evidence exists that the proteins comprise a structurally similar class. In some, the proteins are demonstrated to have olfactory function, but blocking their interaction with odorants only partially inhibits olfactory responses. The remainder of the responses presumably occur by general irritant effects of odorants and their metabolites.     

Calcium and dairy intakes of adolescents are associated with their home environment, taste preferences, personal health beliefs, and meal patterns

OBJECTIVE: To identify correlates of calcium, dairy, and milk intakes among male and female adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study design. Adolescents self-reported measures pertaining to correlates on the Project EAT (Eating Among Teens) survey and completed a food frequency questionnaire at school. SUBJECTS/SETTING: Subjects were a total of 4,079 middle and high school students from Minneapolis/St Paul, MN, public schools. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Multiple linear regression models based on social cognitive theory were examined by sex. RESULTS: Male adolescents reported higher daily intakes of calcium (male: 1,217+/-663 mg; female: 1,035+/-588 mg; P<0.001), dairy servings (male: 2.9+/-1.9; female: 2.4+/-1.7; P<0.001), and milk servings (male: 2.0+/-1.5; female: 1.5+/-1.4; P<0.001) than female adolescents. Calcium intakes of male adolescents were significantly and positively related to availability of milk at meals, taste preference for milk, eating breakfast, higher socioeconomic status, and social support for healthful eating; intakes were significantly and inversely related to consumption of soft drinks and fast food. Among female adolescents, availability of milk at meals, taste preference for milk, eating breakfast, higher socioeconomic status, personal health/nutrition attitudes, and self-efficacy to make healthful food choices were significantly and positively related to intakes; intakes were significantly and inversely related to fast-food consumption. Models of calcium intake explained 71% of the variance in male adolescents and 72% of the variance in female adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Multicomponent interventions with a focus on the family environment are likely to be most effective in increasing calcium intakes among adolescents.     

社区就诊患者满意度调查及影响因素分析

目的：了解患者对社区卫生服务的满意程度及其主要影响因素，为加强社区卫生服务内涵建设提供决策参考依据。方法：采用二阶段分层整群随机抽样的方法，抽取浙江省6个县（市、区）。对其30个社区卫生服务中心的1500名就诊患者进行自填式问卷调查，并运用单因素分析和Logistic回归分析筛选出主要影响因素。结果：回收有效问卷1410份，总体满意率为81．7％，影响患者满意度的主要因素依次为医疗安全、就诊费用、服务内容和服务态度等。结论：社区卫生服务机构必须从加强医疗安全、降低医疗费用、拓展服务内容、改善服务态度等方面进一步加强内涵建设，提高社区卫生服务水平，不断提高患者满意度。     

Couples' gender role preferences and management of family food preferences

OBJECTIVE: To learn how couples stratified by gender role preference (GRP) manage food preferences. DESIGN: One-time individual semistructured qualitative interview with each partner in a couple representing 1 of 3 GRP pairings. Settings/PARTICIPANTS: Volunteers were recruited using advertising and snowball sampling and met the criteria of both parents living at home, wife no older than 40 years, and at least one child under age 6 years and, if present, all others under age 18 years. Both partners in volunteer couples completed a 31-item GRP scale, and the scores of each partner were categorized as traditional (lowest 25% of possible scores), transitional (middle 50%), or egalitarian (top 25%). No traditional couples volunteered. A purposeful sample of 10 transitional and 10 egalitarian wives representing 20 couples was interviewed. Variables Measured: Each partner was asked how food preference patterns were established and how family member food preferences affect foods served at evening meals now. ANALYSIS: Thematic content analysis, constant comparison, and consensus produced the final thematic analysis. RESULTS: Transitional wives married to transitional husbands established a pattern of deference to the husband's preferences that could make alteration of food choices difficult. Egalitarian wives married to egalitarian husbands established a fairer pattern of balancing partner's food preferences. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Nutrition education for transitional and egalitarian couples should use different approaches.