Taste preferences in association with dietary habits and weight status in European children – results from the IDEFICS study

Hintergrund: Increased preference for fat and sugar may play a role in overweight and obesity development. However, this effect is likely to vary across different food cultures. To date, few studies on this topic have been conducted in children and none has employed an international, multi-centre design. We therefore aimed to document taste preferences for fat and sweet in European children and to investigate their association with weight status and dietary habits. Methoden: 1 696 children aged 6–9 years from selected regions in Italy, Estonia, Cyprus, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Hungary and Spain tasted and subsequently chose between a high versus a low fat cracker and a natural versus a sugar-sweetened apple juice. Children's consumption frequency of fatty and sweet foods and demographic variables were obtained from parental-reported questionnaires. Weight and height of the children were measured. Ergebnisse: Fat and sweet taste preferences varied substantially across survey countries. Independent of country, age, sex, parental education and parental BMI, overweight including obesity was positively associated with fat preference (OR 1.8 (1.3–2.5)) and sweet preference (OR 1.5 (1.1–2.1)). Girls – but not boys – with a combined preference for fat and sweet had an especially high probability of being overweight or obese (OR=4.1 (1.8–9.4)). Frequent consumption of fatty foods was related to fat preference in bivariate analyses, however adjusting for survey centre attenuated the association. Sweet preference was not related to consumption of sweet foods, either in crude or adjusted analyses. Schlussfolgerungen: Fat and sweet taste preference are related to weight status in European children across regions with varying food cultures. Influencing taste preferences in children can therefore hold a possible key for prevention strategies aiming to combat the obesity epidemic.