Can children discriminate sugar-sweetened from non-nutritively sweetened beverages and how do they like them?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Replacement of sugar-sweetened by non-nutritively sweetened beverages or water may reduce excess weight gain in children. However, it is unclear whether children like non-nutritively sweetened beverages as much as sugar-sweetened beverages. We examined whether children could taste a difference between non-nutritively sweetened beverages and matching sugar-sweetened beverages, and which of the two types of beverage they liked best.

Methods

89 children aged 5 to 12 tasted seven non-nutritively sweetened beverages and matching sugar-sweetened beverages, for a total of 14 beverages. We used Triangle tests to check their ability to discriminate between the matched versions, and a 5-point scale to measure how much the children liked each individual beverage.

Results<

SUBMITTER: de Ruyter JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4281215 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature