Salt Content Impacts Food Preferences and Intake among Children

Abstract

Decreasing dietary sodium intake, which can be achieved by reducing salt content in food, is recommended. Salt contributes to the taste of foods and makes them more enjoyable. Whether a food is liked or disliked is an important determinant of food intake, especially among children. However, the role of salt in children's food acceptance has received little attention. The impact of salt content on children's hedonic rating and intake of two foods was investigated in children. Using a within-subject crossover design, we recruited 75 children (8–11 years) to participate in five lunches in their school cafeteria. The target foods were green beans and pasta. The added salt content was 0, 0.6 or 1.2 g/100 g. The children's intake (g) of all lunch items was measured. The children provided their hedonic rating of the food, a preference ranking and a saltiness ranking in the laboratory. Children could rank the foods according to salt content, and they preferred the two saltier options. A food-specific effect of salt content on intake was observed. Compared to the intermediate level (0.6 g salt/100 g), not adding salt decreased green bean intake (−21%; p = 0.002), and increasing the salt content increased pasta intake (+24%; p<0.0001). Structural Equation Modeling was used to model the relative weights of the determinants of intake. It showed that the primary driver of food intake was the child's hunger; the second most important factor was the child's hedonic rating of the food, regardless of its salt content, and the last factor was the child's preference for the particular salt content of the food. In conclusion, salt content has a positive and food-specific effect on intake; it impacted food preferences and intake differently in children. Taking into account children's preferences for salt instead of their intake may lead to excessive added salt.

Effect of Taste Enhancement on Consumer Acceptance of Pureed Cucumber and Green Capsicum

“…It is common practice to add seasonings or salt to vegetables (Ahern et al., ; Birch, ; Drewnowski, ; Leshem, ; Martin et al., ). Enhancing saltiness by salt addition can suppress bitterness (Bouhlal et al., ; Bouhlal et al., ; Keast & Breslin, ; Mennella et al., ). On the contrary, Mojet et al.…”

“…Soups containing MSG were perceived as saltier and more pleasant compared to soups without MSG, although no effect of MSG addition on savory taste was observed. Bouhlal, Chabanet, Issanchou, and Nicklaus () and Bouhlal, Issanchou, Chabanet, and Nicklaus () investigated the impact of salt content on vegetable liking and intake in children. Adding sodium chloride to green beans enhanced saltiness and suppressed bitterness which might be beneficial to increase vegetable intake in children (Bouhlal et al., ; Mennella, Pepino, & Beauchamp, ).…”

Report of an EU–US Symposium on Understanding Nutrition-Related Consumer Behavior: Strategies to Promote a Lifetime of Healthy Food Choices

“…However, several examples were presented where labeling alone influences salt content preferences (13). Examples discussed included observations where reduced salt content was accepted (14) and could even become part of early learning and development of healthy food preferences (15). Public awareness campaigns to reduce salt intake have been demonstrated to be effective, using objective markers such as urine sodium measurements (16,17).…”

Sensory testing in new product development: working with children

“…As for pair comparison, it was shown that 4-year-old children could not rank sweet solutions according to their perceived sweetness intensity, but were able to rank them according to their preferences (Liem et al ., 2004). However, intensity ranking was successfully applied to the study of salt perception in usual foods (green beans, pasta) with children aged 8-11 years (Bouhlal et al ., 2013), or to the study of the impact of sourness in fruit beverages with children aged 9-14 years (Kildegaard et al ., 2011b). Children aged 9-10 performed less well than teenagers (14-16 years) (de Graaf and Zandstra, 1999).…”