Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T15:12:44.509Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Plenary Lecture

Sensory control of energy density at different life stages

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2007

Adam Drewnowski
Adam Drewnowski*
Affiliation:
Nutritional Sciences Program, University of Washington, 305 Raitt Hall, Seattle, WA 98195-3410, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Adam Drewnowski, fax +1 206 685 1696, email adamdrew@u.washington.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Taste preferences, food choices and eating habits all change with age. The transition from childhood to adolescence and adult life is associated with reduced sweet taste preferences, lower sugars consumption and reduced energy density of the diet. Ageing is associated with elevated acceptance of bitter tastes, elevated preferences for vegetables and salad greens, and increased consumption of whole grains, vegetables and fruit. The age-associated drop in energy intakes is achieved through a reduction in the weight and volume of food consumed, as well as a reduction in the overall energy density of the diet. Energy density drops from a peak of 5 kJ (1.2 kcal)/g in adolescence and early adult life to a low of 3.1 kJ (0.75 kcal)/g for adult women aged 45–54 years. Older adults, particularly women, consume less fat and saturated fat and more fibre and vitamin C, suggesting a shift in consumption from snacks, sweets and desserts towards grains, vegetables and fruit. These changes in food preferences and eating habits are associated, on a population level, with a decline in preferences for sweet taste and with increased acceptance of bitter tastes. At present there are no data to show a causal relationship between age-related changes in sensory function and the selection of a more bulky energy-dilute diet. However, it is a plausible hypothesis that sensory factors mediate adjustments in energy density of foods at different life stages.

Keywords

Energy densityPalatabilitySugar and fatLife cycleFood preferences
Type
Plenary Lecture
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , May 2000 , pp. 239 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2000

References

Blass, EM (1987) Opioids, sweets and a mechanism for positive affect: broad motivational implications. In Sweetness, pp. 115–126 [Dobbing, J, editor]. Berlin: Springer Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Block, G, Dresser, CM, Hartman, AM & Carroll, MD (1985) Nutrient sources in the American diet: quantitative data from the NHANES II survey. American Journal of Epidemiology 122, 27–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Block, G, Hartman, AM, Dresser, CM, Carroll, MD, Gannon, J & Gardner, L (1986) A data-based approach to diet questionnaire design and testing. American Journal of Epidemiology 124, 453–469.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birch, LL (1992) Children's preference for high-fat foods. Nutrition Reviews 50, 249–255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Birch, LL & Sullivan, SA (1991) Measuring children's food preferences. Journal of School Health 1, 212–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cabanac, M (1971) Physiological role of pleasure. Science 173, 1103–1107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carroll, MD (1983) Dietary Intake Source Data: United States 1976–80. Department of Health and Human Services Publication no. (PHS) 83–1681.Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.Google Scholar
Cronin, FJ, Krebs-Smith, SM, Wyse, BW & Light, L (1982) Characterizing food usage by demographic variables. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 82, 661–672.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobbing, J (editor) (1987) In Sweetness. Berlin: Springer Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drewnowski, A (1989) Sensory preferences for fat and sugar in adolescence and adult life. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 561, 243–250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drewnowski, A (1993) Low-calorie foods and the prevalence of obesity. In Low-calorie Foods Handbook, pp. 513–534 [Altschul, AM, editor]. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc.Google Scholar
Drewnowski, A (1997) Taste preferences and food intake. Annual Review of Nutrition 17, 237–253.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drewnowski, A (1998a) Energy density, palatability and satiety: implications for weight control. Nutrition Reviews 56, 347–353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drewnowski, A (1998b) Palatability and satiety: models and measures. Annales Nestlé 56, 32–42.Google Scholar
Drewnowski, A, Henderson, SA, Hann, CD, Barratt-Fornell, A & Ruffin, M (1999) Age and food preferences influence dietary intake of breast care patients. Health Psychology (In the Press).Google Scholar
Green, SM, Burley, VJ & Blundell, JE (1994) Effect of fat- and sucrose containing foods on the size of eating episodes and energy intake in lean males; potential for causing overconsumption. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, 547–555.Google ScholarPubMed
Havas, S, Heimendinger, J, Reynolds, K, Baranowski, T, Nicklas, TA, Bishop, D, Buller, D, Sorensen, G, Beresford, SAA, Cowan, A & Damron, D (1994) Five-a-day for better health: a new research initiative. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 94, 32–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, SL, McPhee, L & Birch, LL (1991) Conditioned preferences: young children prefer flavors associated with high dietary fat. Physiological Behaviour 50, 1245–1251.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Krebs-Smith, SM, Heimendinger, J, Patterson, BH, Subar, AF, Kessler, R & Pivonka, E (1995) Psychosocial factors associated with fruit and vegetable consumption. American Journal of Health Promotion 10, 98–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kristal, AR, Bowen, DJ, Curry, SJ, Shattuck, AL & Henry, HJ (1990) Nutrition knowledge, attitudes and perceived norms as correlates of selecting low-fat diets. Health Education Research 5, 467–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kristal, AR, Patterson, RE, Glanz, K, Heimendinger, J, Herbert, J, Feng, Z & Probart, C (1995) Psychosocial correlates of healthful diets: Baseline results from the Working Well study. Preventive Medicine 24, 221–228.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Logue, AW & Smith, ME (1986) Predictors of food preferences in adult humans. Appetite 7, 109–125.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McDowell, MA, Briefel, RR, Alaimo, K, Bischof, AM, Caughman, CR, Carroll, MD, Loris, CM & CL, Johnson (1994) Energy and macronutrient intakes of persons ages 2 months and over in the United States: Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Phase 1, 1988–91. Advance Data 255, pp. 1–24.Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.Google Scholar
Meiselman, HI, Waterman, D & Symington, LE (1974) Armed Forces Food Preferences. Technical Report 75–63-FSL.Natick, MA: US Army Natick Development Center.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morreale, A & Schwartz, N (1995) Helping Americans eat right: developing practical and actionable public nutrition education messages based on the ADA Survey of American Dietary Habits. Journal of the American Dietetic Association 95, 305–308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patterson, BH & Block, G (1998) Food choices and the cancer guidelines. American Journal of Public Health 78, 282–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poppitt, SD (1995) Energy density of diets and obesity. International Journal of Obesity 19, Suppl., S20–S26.Google ScholarPubMed
Prentice, AM & Poppitt, SD (1996) Importance of energy density and macronutrients in the regulation of energy intake. International Journal of Obesity 20, Suppl., S18–S23.Google ScholarPubMed
Rolls, BJ & Bell, EA (1999) Intake of fat and carbohydrate: role of energy density. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, Suppl., S166–S173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolls, B & Drewnowski, A (1996) Diet and nutrition. Encyclopedia of Gerontology 1, 429–440.Google Scholar
Schiffmann, SS (1993) Perception of taste and smell in elderly persons. Clinical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 33, 17–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seagle, HM, Davy, BM, Grunwald, G & Hill, JO (1997) Energy density of self-reported food intake: variation and relationships to other food components. Obesity Research 5, Suppl., S87.Google Scholar
Serdula, MK, Coates, RJ, Byers, T, Simoes, E, Mokdad, AH & Subar, AF (1995) Fruit and vegetable intake among adults in 16 states: results of a brief telephone survey. American Journal of Public Health 85, 236–239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Subar, AF, Heimendinger, J, Patterson, BH, Krebs-Smith, SM, Pivonka, E & Kessler, R (1995) Fruit and vegetable intake in the US: the baseline survey of the Five A Day for Better Health Program. American Journal of Health Promotion 9, 352–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weiffenbach, JM (1984) Taste and smell perception in aging. Journal of Gerontology 3, 137–146.Google ScholarPubMed