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  • Original Article
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Salty taste acceptance by infants and young children is related to birth weight: longitudinal analysis of infants within the normal birth weight range

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 60, pages 272–279 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Background:

Birth weight and sodium intake are both associated with risk for hypertension. It is not known whether birth weight influences response to salty taste.

Objective:

To assess the relationship between birth weight and salty taste acceptance of infants and young children.

Design:

Acceptance of salty taste was assessed at 2 (n=80) and 6 (n=76) months in infants (birth weight >2.5 kg) enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Acceptance was expressed as proportional intake following 1-min ingestion tests with water and salt solutions (0.17 and 0.34 mol/l NaCl, in water). Birth weight was obtained by maternal report. Questionnaires completed by mothers and food-ranking procedures performed by children evaluated salt liking and preference in a subset (n=38) of subjects at preschool age (36 or 48 months).

Setting:

Nonprofit basic research institute in Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Results:

Regression analysis revealed significant negative associations between birth weight and acceptance of salty taste at 2 months (0.17 mol/l, P<0.0001; 0.34 mol/l, P<0.01) but not at 6 months. Relationships were not affected by adjustment for potential confounders. In preschoolers, greater liking of (P<0.05) and preference for (P<0.01) salty foods was associated with lower birth weight in simple, but not adjusted, models.

Conclusion:

Measures related to salty taste preference were inversely related to birth weight over the first 4 years of life. Additional studies should substantiate these findings and explore whether early response to salty taste predicts future sodium intake, blood pressure, or other public health-related outcomes.

Sponsorship:

National Institutes of Health (DC 00882).

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Acknowledgements

We thank the many individuals who contributed to the execution of this study. We are indebted to Nicolas Stettler, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, for his critical reading of the manuscript through several drafts and to Jesse Berlin, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, for patient statistical advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    L J Stein, B J Cowart & G K Beauchamp

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  1. L J Stein
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  2. B J Cowart
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  3. G K Beauchamp
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Correspondence to L J Stein.

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Guarantor: LJ Stein.

Contributors: LJS was involved in subject recruitment, data collection, and had primary responsibility for data analysis and manuscript conceptualization and preparation. GKB and BJC were responsible for conceptualization and design of the study and contributed to subject recruitment and data interpretation. The authors had no financial or personal conflict of interest related to the conduct of this research.

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Stein, L., Cowart, B. & Beauchamp, G. Salty taste acceptance by infants and young children is related to birth weight: longitudinal analysis of infants within the normal birth weight range. Eur J Clin Nutr 60, 272–279 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602312

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