Taste sensitivity and lifestyle are associated with food preferences and BMI in children

Abstract

Oral food perception together with lifestyle may affect food preferences and choices, influencing weight gain and obesity development. The present study was designed to evaluate the association of biological (taste sensitivity) and lifestyle variables with children food preferences, assessing whether all these variables contribute to explain BMI percentile. After anthropometric evaluation, 387 children were classified for bitter and sweet taste sensitivities. Socioeconomic/lifestyle aspects and hedonics for 36 foods were collected. Watching TV during meals associate with lower preference for several vegetables, as well as being sweet taste low sensitive, in the case of girls. Moreover, regression analysis showed that bitter taste sensitivity is one of the variables contributing to explain high BMI percentiles. These results present evidences that both biological and socioeconomic and the attention that is given to food (eating in the presence or absence of distractors) are aspects that should be considered in children nutrition to prevent obesity.

Keywords:

• Body mass index (BMI)
• children
• food preferences
• taste sensitivity
• lifestyle

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all the subjects who took part in the study and well as Susana Saruga for her work in anthropometric evaluation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work is funded by National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology under the Project UIDB/05183/2020. The funding was additionally provided by the FCT through research contract CEECIND/04397/2017 to Elsa Lamy, while the foundation was not involved in carrying out this study or submitting it for publication.