Association between food liking and the dietary quality in Australian young adults.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: An individual's liking for food maybe associated with food consumption. This study investigates the association between food liking and dietary quality in Australian young adults. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Food liking and food frequency data were collected via an online Food Liking Questionnaire (FLQ) and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Food liking scores were calculated for groupings of foods. FFQ Food intake data was used to calculate diet quality using a 13 item Dietary Guideline Index (DGI). The relationship between food liking and DGI was assessed using linear regression models and the difference was assessed using an independent sample t-test and One-way ANOVA. RESULTS: Data were available from n=2,535 participants (BMI=24 (SD 3.74), age=21.9 (SD 5.05) years, female=77.1%). Liking for grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, plant-based protein, was weakly positively associated with diet quality. Liking for animal-based protein, fat and oil, sweet food, and salty food, was weakly negatively associated with diet quality. Liking for grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, plant-based protein and healthy foods increased across increasing DGI tertiles, and liking for animalbased protein, fat and oil, sweet food, salty food and discretionary foods decreased across increasing DGI tertiles. CONCLUSIONS: The results were logical with increased liking for healthy or discretionary foods linked with increased consumption of those foods. The results reinforce the strategy to introduce a variety of healthy food groups early in life to initiate flavour-nutrient learning and increase liking for healthy foods.

The relationship between culture, food liking, and body mass index in Australian and Thai young adults.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: An individual's liking of food may be associated with Body Mass Index (BMI) due to its subsequent impact on food consumption. This study investigates the association between food liking and BMI in young adults from Australia and Thailand. METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: Food liking data were collected via a validated online Food Liking Questionnaire (FLQ). Food liking scores were calculated for overall liking of groupings of foods: grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, animal protein, plant-based protein, fat and oil, sweet food, salty food, and alcohol. The relationship between food liking and BMI (calculated from self-reported height and weight) was assessed using linear regression models including country and gender, and mean differences were assessed using independent sample t-test. RESULTS: Data were available from n=4,173 participants (BMI=22.25 (SD 4.18), age=20.6 (SD 4.22) years, female=71.6%, Thai=52.5%). There were significant differences of food liking between countries for all of food groups (p<0.01) except for animal-based protein and plantbased protein liking. BMI was positively, but weakly, associated with liking of animal-based protein (ß=0.20 [0.12, 0.28], p<0.001), and alcohol (ß=0.08 [0.02, 0.13], p<0.01) and negatively associated with plant-based protein (ß=-0.09 [-0.18, -0.01], p<0.05). There was significant difference of food liking between weight status for all of food groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports only minor associations between food liking and BMI, but cultural and gender variation in liking was evident.

Assessing Food Liking: Comparison of Food Liking Questionnaires and Direct Food Tasting in Two Cultures.

Food liking can be directly measured in specialised sensory testing facilities; however, this method is not feasible for large population samples. The aim of the study was to compare a Food Liking Questionnaire (FLQ) against lab-based sensory testing in two countries. The study was conducted with 70 Australian and Thai participants (35 Australian, 35 Thai, mean (SD) age 19 (3.01) years, 51% men). Participants completed a FLQ (consisting of 73 food items Australia, 89 Thai) and then, after tasting the food, rated their liking of a selection of 10 commercially available food items using a nine-point hedonic scale. Both tasks were completed on the same day and were repeated one week later. The reliability of and a comparison between methods was determined using Intra-Class Correlation Coefficients (ICC), and the difference was assessed using an independent sample t-test. The results indicate that the test-retest reliability of FLQ and the laboratory-based liking assessment range was moderate (0.40⁻0.59) to excellent (0.75⁻1.00). There were significant differences for the FLQ and the laboratory-based liking assessment between countries for three food items: soft drink, instant vegetable soup, and broccoli (p < 0.01). However, the data produced from the FLQ reflects the laboratory-based liking assessment. Therefore, it provides representative liking data in large population-based studies including cross-cultural studies.

Caffeine increases sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in a free-living population: a randomised controlled trial.

Excessive sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has been associated with overweight and obesity. Caffeine is a common additive to SSB, and through dependence effects, it has the potential to promote the consumption of caffeine-containing foods. The objective of the present study was to assess the influence that caffeine has on the consumption of SSB. Participants (n 99) were blindly assigned to either a caffeinated SSB (C-SSB) or a non-caffeinated SSB (NC-SSB) group. Following randomisation, all participants completed a 9 d flavour-conditioning paradigm. They then completed a 28 d ad libitum intake intervention where they consumed as much or as little of C-SSB or NC-SSB as desired. The amount consumed (ml) was recorded daily, 4 d diet diaries were collected and liking of SSB was assessed at the start and end of the intervention. Participants (n 50) consuming the C-SSB had a daily SSB intake of 419 (sd 298) ml (785 (sd 559) kJ/d) over the 28 d intervention, significantly more than participants (n 49) consuming the NC-SSB (273 (sd 278) ml/d, 512 (sd 521) kJ/d) (P=0.05). However, participants who consumed the C-SSB liked the SSB more than those who consumed the NC-SSB (6.3 v. 6.0 on a nine-point hedonic scale, P= 0.022). The addition of low concentrations of caffeine to the SSB significantly increases the consumption of the SSB. Regulating caffeine as a food additive may be an effective strategy to decrease the consumption of nutrient-poor high-energy foods and beverages.