title: Impact of sex and age on sensory evaluation of sugar and fat in dairy products.
abstract: Ratings of sugar/fat mixtures were examined in eight groups (2 sexes x 4 age categories) of healthy, normal-weight subjects (N = 226). The subjects were tested immediately before and after a standard lunch. Stimuli were 20 semisolid mixtures of soft white cheese or heavy cream containing between 0 and 30 grams of fat per 100 g, and sweetened with 1, 5, 10, 20 or 40% sucrose (wt./wt.). The subjects briefly tasted the samples; they rated stimulus sweetness, fat content and pleasantness, using 9-point scales. Sweetness ratings were a direct function of sucrose concentration. Rating of fat content was more accurate in older subjects. While palatability was nearly synonymous with sugar content in young boys, most groups showed inverted U-shaped preference functions, with optimal sucrose level at 10% in females and 20% in males. Stimuli were rated very slightly but significantly fatter and sweeter after than before lunch; taste preference ratings in the fed condition were sometimes reduced.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Nutrition, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris.
authors.forename: M O
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Monneuse
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bellisle
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Louis-Sylvestre
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D002241:Carbohydrates; D002611:Cheese; D002648:Child; D003611:Dairy Products; D004041:Dietary Fats; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013395:Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D013395:Sucrose