The importance of taste on dietary choice, behaviour and intake in a group of young adults

Abstract

The ‘taste of food’ plays an important role in food choice. Furthermore, foods high in fat, sugar and salt are highly palatable and associated with increased food consumption. Research exploring taste importance on dietary choice, behaviour and intake is limited, particularly in young adults. Therefore, in this study a total of 1306 Australian university students completed questionnaires assessing dietary behaviors (such as how important taste was on food choice) and frequency of food consumption over the prior month. Diet quality was also assessed using a dietary guideline index. Participants had a mean age of 20 ± 5 years, Body Mass Index (BMI) of 22 ± 3 kg/m², 79% were female and 84% Australian. Taste was rated as being a very or extremely important factor for food choice by 82% of participants. Participants who rated taste as highly important, had a poorer diet quality (p = 0.001) and were more likely to consume less fruit (p = 0.03) and vegetables (p = 0.05). Furthermore, they were significantly more likely to consume foods high in fat, sugar and salt, including chocolate and confectionary, cakes and puddings, sweet pastries, biscuits, meat pies, pizza, hot chips, potato chips, takeaway meals, soft drink, cordial and fruit juice (p = 0.001–0.02). They were also more likely to consider avoiding adding salt to cooking (p = 0.02) and adding sugar to tea or coffee (p = 0.01) as less important for health. These findings suggest that the importance individuals place on taste plays an important role in influencing food choice, dietary behaviors and intake.

Introduction

Food choice is a dynamic process that changes over an individual's lifespan and can be influenced by a number of personal and environmental factors (Barclay & Brand-Miller, 2011). Consumers' likelihood of buying and consuming a food product involves an interaction between the liking of the sensory properties of the food, factors specific to the individual and environmental, cultural and contextual influences (Drewnowski et al., 1997, Furst et al., 1996, Olsen et al., 2012). A small number of food choice studies have demonstrated that taste is rated as one of the most important factors individuals consider when determining which food to purchase and consume (Biloukha and Utermohlen, 2001, Glanz et al., 1998, Lennernas et al., 1997).

Food consumption data has indicated that most individuals in economically developed countries are consuming more energy than is physiologically required, resulting in an energy imbalance (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013). This excess intake of energy has been identified as a leading contributor to the increasing levels of overweight and obesity worldwide (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2013, National Health and Medical Research Council, 2013, World Health Organisation, 2008). Furthermore, an increased consumption of fat, sugar and salt has been linked with energy imbalance in adults (Grimes, Riddell, Campbell, & Nowson, 2013). Fat, sugar and salt have been associated with increasing the liking and palatability of foods (Drewnowski and Specter, 2004, McCroy et al., 2006, Vadiveloo et al., 2013) and increased palatability of single foods is associated with increased energy intake (Biloukha and Utermohlen, 2001, Glanz et al., 1998, Lennernas et al., 1997, McCroy et al., 2006). Repeated exposure to certain foods, can also alter taste perception by either increasing or decreasing consumption (Drewnowski and Specter, 2004, McCroy et al., 2006).

When young adults begin university and make the transition from living in a home environment to one elsewhere, a change of diet and dietary behaviors has been reported (Ansari et al., 2012, Bagordo et al., 2013, Deliens et al., 2013, Gökhan et al., 2014, Ridell et al., 2011, Thorpe et al., 2013). This transition has been shown to result in the development of dietary habits which may be considered less healthy (Ansari et al., 2012, Bagordo et al., 2013, Deliens et al., 2013, Gökhan et al., 2014, Ridell et al., 2011). These dietary habits include a decrease in fruit and vegetable consumption and food variety in general (Ansari et al., 2012, DeBate et al., 2001, Papadaki et al., 2007, Silliman et al., 2004) and an increase in consumption of high-fat foods (Anderson, Shapiro, & Lundgren, 2003), alcohol (Glanz et al., 1998, Lennernas et al., 1997) and convenience meals (Barclay and Brand-Miller, 2011).

As there is limited research specific to the investigation of taste as a factor influencing food choice in young adults, the present study aims to examine the relative importance of taste on food choice and consumption in a group of university students. Considering previous food choice studies have demonstrated the importance of taste when individuals are considering which food to purchase and consume and the palatable-appetitive nature of fat, sugar and salt, it is hypothesized that taste will indeed be an important factor influencing food choice in Australian university students. Furthermore, if an individual does in fact place a high importance on taste, they will consume a greater amount of energy dense, nutrient poor foods and have an overall poorer diet quality.