Bj. Tepper et Ac. Seldner, Sweet taste and intake of sweet foods in normal pregnancy and pregnancy complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus, AM J CLIN N, 70(2), 1999, pp. 277-284
Background: Dietary compliance in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is po
or. Changes in sweet taste perception might alter food preferences in GDM,
making dietary compliance difficult to achieve. These indexes have never be
en studied in GDM.
Objectives: This study documented changes in sweet taste perception and die
tary intakes in pregnant women with and without GDM and determined whether
these differences persisted postpartum.
Design: Subjects were 30 pregnant women without GDM, 25 pregnant women with
recently diagnosed GDM, and 12 nonpregnant control subjects. Pregnant wome
n were tested at 28-32 wk gestation and retested 12 wk postpartum Subjects
evaluated the taste of strawberry-flavored milks with different sucrose (0-
10%) and fat (0-10%) contents and glucose solutions (10-160 mmol/L).
Results: Women with GDM showed no differences in liking for the milk sample
s across test sessions and their liking ratings were not significantly diff
erent from those of nonpregnant control subjects. Women without GDM liked t
he 10% sucrose-sweetened milk samples less during pregnancy than at 12 wk p
ostpartum (P less than or equal to 0.01), at which time their ratings were
not significantly different from those of nonpregnant control subjects. In
women with GDM, plasma glucose after a 50-g glucose load was correlated wit
h both increased liking for the taste of glucose (r = 0.64, P less than or
equal to 0.001) and higher consumption of fruit and fruit juices (r = 0.45,
P less than or equal to 0.02).
Conclusions: Normal pregnancy was associated with a lower preference for 10
% sucrose-sweetened milk samples late in gestation than postpartum, whereas
GDR? was associated with no such differences. Plasma glucose in women with
GDM was related to a higher preference for the sweet taste of glucose and
higher dietary sweet-food intakes from fruit and fruit juices. These findin
gs have important implications for the dietary management of GDM.