Abstract
The health and nutrition implications of high sugar intake for young children are discussed. Infants and young children prefer foods that taste sweet. Sugar substitutes used in moderation can provide a compromise for child care providers who want to offer nutritious food which young children will eat. This study examined sweetener preferences of young children, including a new sweetener (Sweet One®). Participants (3–8 years of age) sampled a beverage and plain cottage cheese sweetened with either sugar or Sweet One® as part of a sensory difference test. They also ranked four vanilla puddings sweetened with sugar and three FDA approved sweeteners. In the difference test, the subjects were able to tell the difference between sugar and Sweet One® in the beverage, but not in the cottage cheese. There was no consensus among the panelists for a sweetener preference in the rank-order test.
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Soliah, L., Walter, J., Parks, T. et al. The role of sweeteners in the diet of young children. Early Childhood Educ J 24, 243–247 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354840
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02354840