title: The effect of age on the recognition thresholds of three sweeteners: sucrose, saccharin and aspartame.
abstract: It is believed that people's sensitivity to taste declines with age but the evidence is inconclusive. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that taste recognition thresholds (TRTs) for sweetness are higher in older than in younger individuals, using groups of 16 younger subjects (18-30) and 16 older subjects (60-85). Three test substances were used: sucrose, aspartame and saccharin. A questionnaire recorded variables which might have affected TRTs, but data failed to show any trend that might have biased the principle variate-age. There was a significant alteration with age of recognition thresholds, at least for sucrose and saccharin. The differences between the groups for the three sweeteners were due to the fact that all the very sensitive subjects were young. None of the older subjects had particularly poor discrimination: all but one had TRTs within the range of younger subjects. Although there are age-related taste changes, they are much less dramatic than commonly occurs with other senses, such as sight and hearing. The findings of this study have implications for institutional catering and the dietary management of older people using non-sugar sweeteners.
authors.affiliation: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, The London Hospital Medical College, Dental School, UK.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Easterby-Smith
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Besford
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Heath
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D001218:Aspartame; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012439:Saccharin; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013395:Sucrose; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013395:Sucrose; D012439:Saccharin; D001218:Aspartame