title: Sweet preferences and sugar consumption of 4- and 5-year-old children: role of parents.
abstract: We investigated the relationships in children between rules that restrict consumption of mono- and disaccharides (MDS), consumption of MDS and preferences for sucrose-containing orangeade. The background ideas of restriction rules we also investigated. To this end, 44 children (5.1+/-0.5 years) performed a rank-order and paired-comparison test of preference for five orangeades, which differed in sucrose concentration (0.14, 0.20, 0.29, 0.42, 0.61 M sucrose). Parents filled out a questionnaire concerning restriction rules and their children's consumption of MDS-containing foods. Stronger restriction rules were related to a lower consumption of beverages that contained MDS and to a lower consumption of MDS-containing foods during breakfast and lunch. The most freedom to choose foods that contain MDS was given during the afternoon. Fifty-five percent of the children who were highly restricted showed a preference for the highest concentration of sucrose in orangeade. None of these children preferred the orangeade with the lowest concentration of sucrose. While 19% of the children who were little restricted preferred the beverage with the lowest concentration of sucrose, 33% preferred the beverage with the highest concentration. These parents generally believed that sugar has a bad effect on health and had similar background ideas concerning restriction rules.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Nutrition and Epidemiology, Wageningen Taste and Smell Centre, Wageningen University, PO Box 8129, 6700 EV Wageningen, The Netherlands. djin-gie.liem@wur.nl
authors.forename: Djin Gie
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Liem
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mars
authors.forename: Cees
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Graaf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004034:Diet Surveys; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose