Abstract
Australian children consume too much salt, primarily from processed foods where salt is often used to enhance flavour. Few studies have assessed children’s salt preference in commercially available foods. This study aims to assess (1) children’s preference and ability to discriminate between salt levels in two commercially available foods and (2) if preference or ability to discriminate between salt levels changes after an education program. Chips and corn flakes were tasted at three levels of salt concentration. Children ranked which they liked best (preference) and which was saltiest (ability to discriminate). The proportion of children across categorical responses was assessed (Chi squared and McNemar’s test) together with changes in preference and ability to discriminate between salt levels from timepoint 1 (T1) to timepoint 2 (T2). Ninety-two children (57% female, mean age 9.1 years (SD 0.8)) participated. At T1 approximately one-half and two-thirds of children preferred the highest salt chip and cornflake, respectively, (both p < 0.05). Fifty-seven percent and 63% of children identified the highest level of salt in chips and cornflakes as the saltiest, respectively. Preference and ability to discriminate between salt levels were unchanged between timepoints. Results support product reformulation to decrease salt content of foods provided to children.
Highlights
Children tend to prefer foods with higher levels of salt, with some evidence suggesting preferred levels of salt are higher in children than adults [1,2]
This study provides the first insight into Australian children’s preferences for and ability to discriminate between salt content in two commercially available foods: potato chips
The exception being low salt potato chips, which needed to be sourced online as those available at supermarkets were much higher in fat, compared to mid and high salt chip samples, suggesting this particular sample may not be accessible to the population. This is the first study detailing Australian children’s preferences for commercially available products of varying salt content. This is the first study to investigate whether children can differentiate between products with varying salt content
Summary
Children tend to prefer foods with higher levels of salt, with some evidence suggesting preferred levels of salt are higher in children than adults [1,2]. This high salt preference coexists with high intakes of salt among children and adults [3]. In Australia, average salt intake among primary schoolchildren is 6.1 g/day [4] and among adults it is 9.6 g/day [5]. Reducing salt exposure during childhood is important due to links of high salt intake with raised blood pressure [14,15] and excess body weight [16,17]
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