Alterations in adolescents' sensory taste preferences during and after pregnancy

The purpose of this study was to determine adolescents' preferences during and after pregnancy for foods that differed in fat, sugar, and salt content, components that are associated with much of the flavor in food and, hence, are related to food acceptance.

Sensory taste preferences for 16 foods were assessed by 52 white adolescents during the third trimester of pregnancy and again 11-13 months postpartum. The study design was a randomized, incomplete block design. Each subject evaluated the same eight foods at each interview using a 10-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 neither contained a sugar substitute (e.g., peaches in heavy syrup vs. natural juices), and three pairs differed in salt content (e.g., salted vs. unsalted peanuts). Differences in preferences were determined with least-squares analysis of variance.

Although preferences for 13 of the 16 foods did not differ between pregnancy and postpartum assessments, whole milk, skim milk, and salted peanuts were ranked significantly higher (p = 0.02, 0.007, and 0.05) during pregnancy. Hedonic 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 peanuts, chips, and crackers were preferred (p = 0.0003, 0.0001, and 0.03) over the unsalted/low-salt products.

The adolescents' increased sensory taste preferences for milk and salty snack foods during pregnancy, as well as personal taste preferences, should be recognized by clinicians, and nutrition recommendations should be individualized to enhance compliance.