Shifting Salty Taste Preferences in Children

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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
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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.

Official Title
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Salty Taste: Assessing a Strategy to Reduce Children's Preference

Conditions
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Development

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Low Sodium Group


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy Willingness to consume no other cereals during intervention Exclusion Criteria: Allergies and/or taking medication that affects taste

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 7 Years
Maximum Age: 65 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Basic Science
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Triple


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: Control Group<br>Children will receive regularly salted cereal to consume 4 times per week over a 2-month period. | |
| Experimental: Low Sodium Group<br>Intervention: Children will receive low sodium cereal to consume 4 times per week over a 2-month period. | Other: Low Sodium Group<br>* Breakfast Cereal<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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. | Baseline (time 0) and after 8-week intervention | 
| 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 | At baseline and after 8-week intervention | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Salt Taste Detection Thresholds | Detection thresholds (the lowest level of salt detect by taste) were measured via a two-alternative forced-choice procedure | Baseline and after 8-week intervention | 
| 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. | At baseline and after 8-week intervention | 
| 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. | 28 days | 
| 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. | Baseline | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Diet, Salty taste, Psychophysics, Genetics, Age