Association of Infant Feeding Patterns with Taste Preferences in European Children and Adolescents: A Retrospective Latent Profile Analysis

Abstract

The aim was to investigate associations between the duration of infant feeding practices (FP) and taste preferences (TP) in European children and adolescents. A total of 5526 children (6–16 years old) of the I.Family study completed a Food and Beverage Preference Questionnaire to measure their preferences for sweet, fatty and bitter tastes. Mothers retrospectively reported the FPs duration in months: exclusive breastfeeding (EBF), exclusive formula milk feeding (EFMF), combined breastfeeding (BF&FMF) and the age at the introduction of complementary foods (CF). Using logistic regression analyses and latent class analysis (latent profiles of FP and CF were identified), we explored associations between profiles and TP, adjusting for various covariates, including the Healthy Diet Adherence Score (HDAS). A total of 48% of children had short durations of EBF (≤4 months) and BF&FMF (≤6 months) and were introduced to CF early (<6 months). No significant relationship was observed between the single FPs and TP, even when considering common profiles of FP. HDAS was inversely associated with sweet and fatty TP, but positively with bitter TP. Contrary to our hypotheses, we did not observe associations between FP and children’s TP later in life. Further studies with higher FP variation and longitudinal design are needed to investigate the causal associations between infant FP and taste preferences later in life.

Dietary Habits and Choices of 4-to-6-Year-Olds: Do Children Have a Preference for Sweet Taste?

“…The present study also demonstrated that children enjoyed fruit which is naturally sweet, and that their preference for fatty taste, in particular fast foods, increased with age. Similar observations were made in the population of European children and teenagers [ 11 , 37 ], as well as in a review article [ 54 ]. Children’s preference for high-fat products is explained by association with the energy provided by fat.…”

“…Taste preference (TP) is one of the factors that affect children’s food intake and eating habits [ 11 ]. The sweet taste is associated with sugar and its derivatives, such as fructose or lactose, but other substances in fruit juices or drinks can also activate sensory cells that respond to sweetness.…”

Digital Media Use in Association with Sensory Taste Preferences in European Children and Adolescents—Results from the I.Family Study

“…It is well-documented that food intake is determined by taste preferences (TP) which are established during childhood and adolescence and are meant to track into adulthood [ 3 ]. These are influenced by genetic [ 4 ] and environmental factors, including diet quality [ 5 ], culture [ 6 ], and home and non-family-shared environment [ 7 ]. Evidence shows that children learn to prefer energy dense foods over energy-diluted versions of the same foods [ 8 ].…”

Dietary Behavior and Physical Activity in Children and Adolescents

“…Data included in this Special Issue are from large epidemiological studies including several multi-center [5,6] and multinational studies [3,7] as well as datasets from surveillance initiatives, such as the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS) [8,9], the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) [10], and the WHO European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (WHO COSI) [11]. Three of the studies in this Special Issue reported on the co-occurrence of multiple health behaviors in the same children [6,8,11], in particular the clustering of low levels of physical activity levels and/or high screen times with a higher consumption of energy-dense foods [6,8].…”

“…The role of parenting and early feeding practices was investigated in four studies within this Special Issue [5,12,13,14]. Of particular interest, Walton K. et al videotaped families during dinner and reported associations between food parenting practices and preschooler’s risk of poor nutrition.…”