Abstract
The taste and food preferences in children can affect their food intake and body weight. Bitter and sweet taste sensitivities were identified as primary taste contributors to children’s preference for consuming various foods. This pilot study aimed to determine the taste sensitivity and preference for bitter and sweet tastes in a sample of Malaysian children. A case–control study was conducted among 15 pairs of Malay children aged 7 to 12 years. Seven solutions at different concentrations of 6-n-propylthiouracil and sucrose were prepared for testing bitterness and sweet sensitivity, respectively. The intensity of both bitter and sweet sensitivity was measured using a 100 mm Labelled Magnitude Scale (LMS), while the taste preference was rated using a 5-point Likert scale. The participants were better at identifying bitter than sweet taste (median score 6/7 vs. 4/7). No significant differences were detected for both tastes between normal-weight and overweight groups (bitter: 350 vs. 413, p = 0.273; sweet: 154 vs. 263, p = 0.068), as well as in Likert readings (bitter 9 vs. 8: p = 0.490; sweet 22 vs. 22: p = 0.677). In this sample of Malay children, the participants were more sensitive to bitterness than sweetness, yet presented similar taste sensitivity and preference irrespective of their weight status. Future studies using whole food samples are warranted to better characterize potential taste sensitivity and preference in children.
Highlights
The increase in rates of childhood obesity has become a worldwide health problem.Globally, over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years were overweight or obese in 2016 [1]
Almost all children were from low-income families (Table 1)
Asian Malay children’s sensitivity towards bitterness and sweet taste; no statistical differences were detected in taste sensitivity and preferences between normal-weight and overweight children
Summary
The increase in rates of childhood obesity has become a worldwide health problem. Over 340 million children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years were overweight or obese in 2016 [1]. 2019), 29.8% of Malaysian children in a similar age group are overweight (15.0%) and obese (14.8%) [2], making Malaysia one of the Asian countries with the highest percentage of childhood obesity [3]. Several studies have demonstrated that childhood overweight and obese status can pose significant health risks later in life, increasing risk factors associated with cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia [3,4]. Disruption in energy balance is an important contributory factor due to increased sedentary lifestyle and intake of high-energy food [5,6,7]. Taste sensitivity plays an important and unavoidable role in food preferences, choices, and consumption [9]
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