Sweetness Intensity and Pleasantness in Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Abstract

DE GRAAF, C. AND E. H. ZANDSTRA. Sweetness intensity and pleasantness in children, adolescents, and adults. PHYSIOL BEHAV 67(4) 513–520, 1999.—In the present study we investigated the perceived sweetness intensity and pleasantness of sucrose in water, and sucrose in orange lemonade, in 30 children (9–10 years), 30 adolescents (14–16 years), and 30 adults (20–25 years) by means of direct (five-point category scales) and by means of indirect scaling (rank ordering) methods. Concentrations for determination of perceived sweetness intensity and pleasantness were 1, 4.8, 6.9, 14.4, 20.8, and 30.0 g sucrose/100 mL solute (0.03, 0.14, 0.20, 0.29, 0.42, 0.61, and 0.88 mol/L). Concentrations used to test discriminatory ability were 7.6, 8.7, 10.0, 11.5, and 13.2 g sucrose/100 mL solute (0.22, 0.25, 0.29, 0.34, and 0.39 mol/L). The results of the direct and indirect scaling methods concurred with each other. Children had a lower slope of the psychophysical function of the perceived sweetness intensity of sucrose, and were less well able to discriminate between the different sucrose concentrations than the adolescents, and the adolescents showed a lower sensitivity towards sucrose than the adults. Children had higher optimal preferred sucrose concentrations than the adolescents, and the adolescents had higher optimal preferred sucrose concentrations than adults. The age effects were similar for sucrose in water and sucrose in lemonade.