Relationship of intake of plant-based foods with 6-n-propylthiouracil sensitivity and food neophobia in Japanese preschool children

Abstract

Background/Objectives: 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. Subjects/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 nontasters 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 ¼ 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 ¼ 0.0019). High intake of soy foods was significantly associated with a low neophobia score in PROP tasters but not in non-tasters (P ¼ 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.

Food neophobia associates with lower dietary quality and higher BMI in Finnish adults

“…A similar relationship has previously been established in children by many studies (2,(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21) . However, we investigated the associations beyond correlations and also provided quantitative estimates for the differences between food neophilics (FNS score 10-24) and food neophobics (FNS score 40-70).…”

“…Unsurprisingly, food neophobia restricts the variety of one's diet (13)(14)(15) , but the effects of neophobia on the consumed amounts of specific foods are less obvious. In children, however, several studies have shown that high food neophobia is associated with low consumption of fruit and vegetables (16)(17)(18)(19)(20) or specifically vegetables (2,21) . Results from the studies that measured consumption of fruit and vegetables separately (16,17,19,21) suggest that child food neophobia correlates more strongly with vegetable intake than with fruit intake.…”

“…In children, however, several studies have shown that high food neophobia is associated with low consumption of fruit and vegetables (16)(17)(18)(19)(20) or specifically vegetables (2,21) . Results from the studies that measured consumption of fruit and vegetables separately (16,17,19,21) suggest that child food neophobia correlates more strongly with vegetable intake than with fruit intake. On the other hand, no correlation has been found between food neophobia and the consumption of snacks or starchy staple foods (16,18) .…”

Variation in the Ability to Taste Bitter Thiourea Compounds: Implications for Food Acceptance, Dietary Intake, and Obesity Risk in Children

“…The majority of studies that have found differences between dietary intake as a function of PROP status have utilized food frequency questionnaires (77,78) or measured ad libitum intake (15,54,75). Most studies that have used self-report diet recalls or food diaries have not seen any relationship with PROP status (5,22,50,101,102,134). The biases inherent in methods for dietary reporting have been thoroughly discussed, and all methods have obvious strengths and limitations.…”

“…These methods have well-known biases but are often the only practical means of estimating intake, particularly for large populations. In 323 children ages 4 to 6 from Japan, nontaster boys reported higher intake of soy-containing foods on a three-day food record compared with taster boys, but only food neophobia, and not PROP status, predicted vegetable intake in this cohort (134). In the Irish cohort from Feeney and colleagues (50), children who had the AVI/AVI nontaster genotype reported higher intake of folate, a nutrient found in green leafy vegetables, compared to children who had taster haplotypes.…”