Shifting Salty Taste Preferences in Children

Sin intervención: Control Group

Children will receive regularly salted cereal to consume 4 times per week over a 2-month period.

Experimental: Low Sodium Group

Intervention: Children will receive low sodium cereal to consume 4 times per week over a 2-month period.

Otro: Low Sodium Group

Breakfast Cereal

Most Preferred Level of Salt Taste

Children were presented with pairs of broths with varying concentrations of added salt (0.16, 0.24, 0.38, 0.61, 1.05 M) (17) . The first pair of broths (0.24 and 0.61 M salt) presented were from the middle range of concentrations. Children were instructed to taste each sample within a pair for 5 seconds, to rinse between tastings, and then to point to the sample they liked better. Each subsequent pair of samples contained the concentration selected by the participant paired with an adjacent stimulus concentration. This pattern continued until the child either chose the same concentration when paired with both a lower and higher concentration in two consecutive pairs or chose either the highest or the lowest concentration twice consecutively. The entire task was repeated a, with stimulus pairs presented in reverse order. The geometric mean of the two concentrations chosen in the first and second series was calculated to determine most preferred levels of salt.

Relative Preference for Regular vs Low Sodium Cereal

The number of children who preferred the taste of the low salt cereal when compared to the regular sodium cereal

Salt Taste Detection Thresholds

Detection thresholds (the lowest level of salt detect by taste) were measured via a two-alternative forced-choice procedure

Most Preferred Level of Sucrose

Children were presented with pairs of sucrose solutions of varying concentrations (0.09, 0.18, 0.35, 0.70, 1.05 M). The first pair presented were from the middle range of concentrations. Children tasted each sample and then pointed to the sample they liked better. Each subsequent pair of samples presented contained the concentration selected by the child paired with an adjacent stimulus concentration. This pattern continued until the child either chose the same concentration when paired with both a lower and higher concentration in two consecutive pairs or chose either the highest or the lowest concentration twice consecutively. The entire task was repeated after a 3-minute break, with stimulus pairs presented in reverse order. The geometric mean of the two concentrations chosen in the first and second series was calculated to determine the most preferred levels of sucrose.

Intake of Cereal During Intervention Period

Mothers recorded the amount of cereal their children ingested during 28 days of the 8-week, at-home intervention period.

Blood Pressure

Blood pressure (mmHg) was measured by using an automatic blood pressure machine with pediatric cuff. Blood pressure will be measured at baseline (time 0). There were no a priori hypothesis but were collected as baseline characteristic to ensure no differences between the groups.