Relationships between and among selected measures of sweet-taste preference and dietary intake

The extent to which the sensory properties of foods influencedietary practices remains poorly characterized. Hedonic attributesappear to exert the predominant role among sensory factors.Therefore a parametric study to ascertain the relationshipsbetween measures of sweet-taste preferences and selected relevantdietary measures was undertaken. Twenty-five healthy, normalweight adults kept 7-day diet records and provided hedonic responsesto (i) lists of foods on questionnaires, (ii) prepared coffeeand oatmeal samples on category and visual analog scales, and(iii) water and coffee via an adjustment task. Ratings wereobtained under conditions where samples were swallowed versusexpectorated and viewed as ‘normal foods’ versus‘test samples’. Correlations were then sought betweendietary variables and both individual and aggregate profilesof preference measures. Either analytic approach revealed significantassociations with estimates of preferred tastes of the diet,but only taste profiles comprised of several taste preferencemeasures together were significantly related to nutrient intake(i.e. carbohydrate and alcohol calories). This observation,as well as findings obtained from the different testing proceduresand contexts, are considered from a methodologic perspective(i.e. what are the optimal conditions for examining diet–tasterelationships).