Abstract
The objective of the present study was to evaluate children's hedonic sensitivity to sugar reduction in three dairy products: vanilla milk desserts, chocolate-flavoured milk, and vanilla yoghurt. For each product, a regular sample and five samples with different reduction in added-sugar content were formulated. The regular sample contained the sugar content of commercial products available in the marketplace. The reduction in added-sugar content ranged between 10.0 and 41.0%. A total of 126 children (8–13 years old) participated in the study. An A-not A test was used to evaluate children's hedonic sensitivity to sugar reduction. Sugar reductions up to 27% in chocolate flavoured milk and vanilla yoghurt, and up to 19% in vanilla milk desserts, did not cause significant changes in children's hedonic reaction. These results confirm that sugar-reduction strategies can be easily implemented in the dairy industry without significant risk of affecting sample appreciation and market share.
Highlights
Sugar intake has been identified as one of the most important dietary factors for childhood overweight and obesity (Newens & Walton, 2016; WHO, 2015)
Considering that dairy products are recommended as part of children’s diets due to their nutritional value (Campmans-Kuijpers, Singh-Povel, Steijins, & Beulens, 2016; Dror & Allen, 2014), a reduction in added sugar seems necessary to reduce children's sugar intake
The present work aimed at providing insights for the design of sugar-reduction strategies of dairy products targeted at children
Summary
Sugar intake has been identified as one of the most important dietary factors for childhood overweight and obesity (Newens & Walton, 2016; WHO, 2015). Most of processed products targeted at children have been reported to contain excessive sugar content (Boulton et al, 2016; Elliott, 2008; Giménez, Saldamando, Curutchet, & Ares, 2017). Dairy products are an important source of added sugar in children's diet Moore, Horti, & Fielding (2018) reported that only 2% of the yogurts targeted at children in British supermarkets can be categorized as low in sugar, whereas dairy desserts aimed at children’s lunch boxes had a high content of sugar (over 16%). Considering that dairy products are recommended as part of children’s diets due to their nutritional value (Campmans-Kuijpers, Singh-Povel, Steijins, & Beulens, 2016; Dror & Allen, 2014), a reduction in added sugar seems necessary to reduce children's sugar intake
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