Correlations Among Threshold and Assessment for Salty Taste and High-salt Dietary Behavior by Age / 대한지역사회영양학회지

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to analyze correlation thresholds and assessment for salty taste and high-salt dietary behaviors by age. METHODS: A total of 524 subjects including 100 each of elementary school students, middle school students, college students, and elderly as well as 124 adults were surveyed for detection and recognition thresholds, salty taste assessments, and high-salt dietary behaviors. RESULTS: Elementary students had a lower detection threshold (p<0.05) and recognition threshold (p<0.01) than did the other groups. Salty taste assessments were lowest among elementary students, followed by middle school students, while college students, adults, and elderly had higher assessment score (p<0.001). Elementary students had significantly lower scores for high-salt dietary behavior than did middle school students, college students, adults and elderly (p<0.001). Middle school students had higher scores for high-salt dietary behavior than did elementary school students and elderly (p<0.001) but no meaningful difference was found in dietary behavior scores between college students, adults, and elderly. There were positive correlations between high-salt dietary behavior and detection thresholds (p<0.001), recognition thresholds (p<0.001), and salty taste assessment (p<0.001). High-salt dietary behavior was more positively correlated with salty taste assessment than detection and recognition thresholds for salty taste. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that salty taste assessments were positively associated with scores for the detection and recognition thresholds and high-salt dietary behavior.