Comparison of sensory specific satiety and sensory specific desires to eat in children and adults

This 2011 study assessed the impacts of sensory specific satiety (SSS) and sensory specific desire to eat (general wanting for certain taste categories) on the subsequent food choices of children and adults. The 87 children and 49 adults who participated in this study were fed sweet pear banana yoghurt until satiation (fullness) and were tested on foods representing sweet, salty, sour, bitter, “fatty”, and “spicy” flavors too. The hunger, satiation (state of fullness), liking, and wanting for the test foods and the yoghurt were reported at baseline and after meal consumption. Sensory specific satiety and sensory specific desire were expressed differently in children and adults. The children’s sensory specific satiety was bound to the yoghurt, whereas a transfer in SSS was observed in adults to the uneaten foods sharing sensory characteristics with the yoghurt (namely sweet, sour and “fatty”), reducing their liking after intake. The same trend was seen for sensory specific desire to eat. These variations in expression of SSS and SSD between adults and children may have major implications for the planning of meal compositions. [NPID: perception, sensory specific satiety, desire to eat, meal planning, portion control]

Year: 2011

Reference: Olsen, A., Ritz, C., Hartvig, D. L., & Møller, P. (2011). Comparison of sensory specific satiety and sensory specific desires to eat in children and adults. Appetite, 57(1), 6–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2011.03.009