Lawless H
J Am Diet Assoc. 1985 May;85(5):577-82, 585.
Taste and smell are considered important influences on food selection and intake. However, the exact nature of the effects of chemical sensory function on dietary habits is still unclear. Future research concerning this interaction should facilitate the development of optimal dietary guidelines concerning the palatability of foods for children. At present, however, some broad generalizations about sensory development and food acceptance can be made. First, sweet preference appears innate, and thus addition of sweet substances is almost certain to increase the palatability of foods. Conversely, aversions to bitterness appear from a very early age, and thus bitter flavors are likely to decrease palatability. Third, saltiness may be aversive or neutral to infants, with adult patterns of salt preference not appearing until about age 2. Fourth, odors, including volatile flavors like cherry, which are perceived via the olfactory receptors, cannot be expected to have much impact on children until about age 5. Even though children can detect such odors, their likes and dislikes are attenuated. Finally, young children probably find strong or irritative sensations in the mouth, e.g., from carbonation or pepper, to be aversive.
味觉和嗅觉被认为是影响食物选择和摄入量的重要因素。然而，化学感官功能对饮食习惯的影响的确切性质仍不清楚。关于这种相互作用的未来研究应有助于制定有关儿童食物适口性的最佳饮食指南。然而，目前可以对感官发育和食物接受度做出一些大致的概括。首先，对甜味的偏好似乎是天生的，因此添加甜味物质几乎肯定会增加食物的适口性。相反，对苦味的厌恶从很小的时候就出现了，因此苦味很可能会降低适口性。第三，咸味对婴儿可能是厌恶的或中性的，直到大约2岁才会出现成人的盐偏好模式。第四，气味，包括通过嗅觉感受器感知的挥发性气味，如樱桃味，在大约5岁之前对儿童的影响不大。尽管儿童能够察觉到这些气味，但他们的喜好和厌恶程度较弱。最后，幼儿可能会觉得口腔中的强烈或刺激性感觉，例如来自碳酸或胡椒的感觉，是令人厌恶的。
