Is there such a thing as a "sweet tooth" that is acclimatisation to sweetness in foods. Is it possible that if an individual is exposed to foods rich in sugar that they can develop a "sweet tooth" and if a person is classified as having a "sweet tooth" does it matter?

Does having a diet rich in sweet foods impact on the nutritional quality of the diet? Does intake of sugary foods result in an excessive intake of non-milk extrinsic sugars, total energy and do they displace healthier food items from the diet? Do children who don't have a "sweet tooth" have a healthier diet than those with, and is there value in recalibrating a "sweet tooth"?

Subjects:

Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) study is an ideal population in which to investigate these questions as it has a wealth of dietary data collected at several time points and valuable questionnaire data.

Data:

Dietary data has been collected using two methods. Food frequency questionnaire data is available at ages 3 years, 4 years, 7 years and 9 years. Food record data (3-day) is available on approximately 1000 children at 4 months, 8 months, 18 months, 43 months and 5 years and for approximately 7000 at 7 years, 10 years and 13 years. In addition there is age of introduction to various food items, including fizzy drinks, chocolate and sweets collected at 6 months and 15 months. The parents/carers were asked at 65 and 78 months if their child seemed to prefer sweet foods, these questions can be used to identify children with a 'sweet tooth'.

Methods:

1. Parent identified 'sweet tooth':

Analysis will be carried out to identify if there is any difference between the diets of children who were identified by their parents as having a "sweet tooth" and those who were not.. We will investigate if these children were introduced to sweet foods at an early age. Using the longitudinal data we will investigate if their diet tracks over time.

2. NME intake at 7 - used to identify those eating most sugar:

We will calculate non-milk extrinsic sugar intake at 7 years and divide intake into quintiles. We will compare the diets of children in the upper quintiles with the lower quintiles and indentify differences in intakes of nutrients and foods. We will track children's NME sugars intake from 7 years to determine if they remain within or cross centiles at age 10 and 13 years.

3. Early Introduction to sweet foods:

We will indentify children who were introduced to sweet foods at an early age, and identify if exposure to sweet foods at an early age leads to a higher intake of sugars in later diet.

Staff

Louise Jones Research Nutritionist (60% for 6 months) will perform the analyses and prepare manuscripts and reports.

Pauline Emmett Senior Research Fellow in nutritional epidemiology will will suppy expertise in analysis and manuscript preparation (2 hours per week)

Colin Steer will provide statistical support (1 hour per week)

Steve Gregory will provide data and manuscript preparation support (20% for 6 months)

The work will be part of the School Food Trust research strategy.