REDUCING ICE-CREAM ENERGY DENSITY DOES NOT CONDITION DECREASED ACCEPTANCE OR ENGENDER COMPENSATION FOLLOWING REPEATED EXPOSURE

Objectives: The preferences for high-fat foods are believed to be base d on their sensory attributes and energy density; however less is know n about how such preferences might be weakened, other than in response to deterioration in flavor or textural quality. The aim of the presen t study was to see whether acceptability of reduced fat/energy foods w ould wane as the original post-ingestive nutritional benefits are redu ced when palatability remains essentially constant. Design: Repeated m easures, within-subjects design conducted in two counterbalanced three week trials. Setting/Subjects: Sixteen normal-weight males (mean age 25.8 +/- 1.2 y) came to our laboratory at the Hopital Hotel Dieu in Pa ris to eat an afternoon snack on 13 consecutive days (excluding weeken ds). Intervention/Outcome Measures: Intake was recorded following repe ated exposure to two flavors of standard (10% fat as a percentage of t otal solids weight), and low (3%) fat ice cream. One group received st andard vanilla or low-fat strawberry ice cream on alternate days for t wo consecutive weeks; these flavor associations were reversed for a se cond group. The two flavors were rated as equipalatable at the beginni ng of the experiment at all energy levels. Results: Subjects consumed the same quantity of ice cream throughout the experimental period, ind ependent of energy density or flavor. Consequently, aggregate (summed) energy intake for subjects consuming low-fat ice cream was significan tly lower (by 581 kJ (139 kcal), 15.49 fat). Food intake records for t he 24 h period immediately following the test sessions revealed no com pensation for fat or energy. Despite the 28% reduction in energy densi ty for the low-fat version, acceptance for the flavors associated with the reduced-energy versions had not declined by the end of the experi mental period. Conclusions: The findings suggest that acceptance of re duced-fat foods may not be critically dependent on the post-ingestive metabolic effects when the reductions in energy density are small. Fur ther tests with more severe reductions, and perhaps over more prolonge d time periods, will be necessary to determine at what level of substi tution acceptance might begin to deteriorate.