Shifting Salty Taste Preferences in Children

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Development

Interventions: Other: Low Sodium Group

Registration Number: NCT02909764

Lead Sponsor: Monell Chemical Senses Center

Brief Summary: The goals of the proposed research are to determine whether repeated exposure to a low sodium food will result in reduced preference for salt in that food among children; and to determine whether such reductions in preference are related to dietary intake of salt, taste receptor genotype, and anthropometric and physiological measures.

Detailed Description: This is a within- and between-subjects randomized controlled trial on children consuming either a low sodium or a higher sodium cereal over a 2-month period to determine if repeated exposure to the low sodium cereal is effective for reducing preference for salt in that food. Children will be genotyped for markers related to taste, dietary intake will be recorded, and anthropometric and physiological measures will be collected at baseline.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 39

Inclusion Criteria

Healthy
Willingness to consume no other cereals during intervention

Exclusion Criteria

Allergies and/or taking medication that affects taste

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

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

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Relative Preference for Regular vs Low Sodium Cereal	At baseline and after 8-week intervention	The number of children who preferred the taste of the low salt cereal when compared to the regular sodium cereal
Most Preferred Level of Salt Taste	Baseline (time 0) and after 8-week intervention	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.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Most Preferred Level of Sucrose	At baseline and after 8-week intervention	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.
Salt Taste Detection Thresholds	Baseline and after 8-week intervention	Detection thresholds (the lowest level of salt detect by taste) were measured via a two-alternative forced-choice procedure
Intake of Cereal During Intervention Period	28 days	Mothers recorded the amount of cereal their children ingested during 28 days of the 8-week, at-home intervention period.
Blood Pressure	Baseline	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.