ALTERATIONS IN ADOLESCENTS SENSORY TASTE PREFERENCES DURING AND AFTERPREGNANCY

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine adolescents' prefe rences during and after pregnancy for foods that differed in fat, suga r, and salt content, components that are associated with much of the f lavor in food and, hence, are related to food acceptance. Methods: Sen sory taste preferences for 16 foods were assessed by 52 white adolesce nts during the third trimester of pregnancy and again 11-13 months pos tpartum. The study design was a randomized, incomplete block design. E ach subject evaluated the same eight foods at each interview using a 1 0-cm hedonic scale, which was scored 0 = ''dislike extremely'' to 10 = ''like extremely.'' Three pairs of foods differed in fat content (e.g ., ice cream vs. ice milk), two pairs differed in sugar content, but n either contained a sugar substitute (e.g., peaches in heavy syrup vs. natural juices), and three pairs differed in salt content (e.g., salte d vs. unsalted peanuts). Differences in preferences were determined wi th least-squares analysis of variance. Results: Although preferences f or 13 of the 16 foods did not differ between pregnancy and postpartum assessments, whole milk, skim milk, and salted peanuts were ranked sig nificantly higher (p = 0.02, 0.007, and 0.05) during pregnancy. Hedoni c scores were higher (p = 0.002 and 0.005) for whole milk over skim at both assessments, but ice cream was not preferred significantly over lower-fat frozen products. During pregnancy, but not after, salted pea nuts, chips, and crackers were preferred (p = 0.0003, 0.0001, and 0.03 ) over the unsalted/low-salt products. Conclusions: The adolescents' i ncreased sensory taste preferences for milk and salty snack foods duri ng pregnancy, as well as personal taste preferences, should be recogni zed by clinicians, and nutrition recommendations should be individuali zed to enhance compliance. (C) Society for Adolescent Medicine, 1998.