title: Relationship of intake of plant-based foods with 6-n-propylthiouracil sensitivity and food neophobia in Japanese preschool children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Diets rich in plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits and soy foods have been suggested to have beneficial effects on health. However, phytochemicals contained in plant-based foods are generally bitter and acrid. We investigated whether intake of vegetables, fruits and soy foods is associated with sensitivity to bitterness and reluctance to eat new foods (food neophobia) in Japanese preschool children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Subjects of this cross-sectional study were healthy Japanese, 167 boys and 156 girls, aged 4-6 years. Intake of vegetables, fruits and soy foods was estimated from 3-day dietary records. Subjects were classified as either tasters or non-tasters of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) based on their ability to taste 0.56 mmol/l PROP. Information on each child's age, height, weight, food neophobia status and food variety, as well as maternal diet and parental control over the child's eating, was obtained by a parent-administered questionnaire. Food neophobia was assessed using the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A high intake of vegetables was significantly associated with a low CFNS score in boys after controlling for covariates (P=0.0008). Among the boys, soy food intake was significantly higher in PROP non-tasters than in tasters, except those with low CFNS scores (P=0.0019). High intake of soy foods was significantly associated with a low neophobia score in PROP tasters but not in non-tasters (P=0.0024).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These data suggest that sensitivity to bitter taste and food neophobia may influence the consumption of vegetables and soy foods among Japanese preschool boys.
authors: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan. o2111706@edu.gifu-u.ac.jp
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Tsuji
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Nakamura
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Tamai
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Wada
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Sahashi
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Watanabe
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Ohtsuchi
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Ando
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Nagata
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D010945:Plants, Edible; D011441:Propylthiouracil; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors; D045730:Soy Foods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013649:Taste; D013652:Taste Threshold; D014675:Vegetables
chemical_list: D011441:Propylthiouracil