Junk food or healthy food? The relationship between odor identification performance and dietary patterns among children and adolescents

IF 4.6 2区医学 Q1 BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Appetite Pub Date : 2025-03-25 DOI:10.1016/j.appet.2025.107978

Han Zhou , Yi-qi Qiu , Qian-wen Ma , Lai-quan Zou

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose

Children and adolescents with an insecure dietary pattern are at risk of experiencing adverse health effects. In general, olfactory capacity is particularly important in shaping food-flavor perception, affecting nutritious food intake, and ultimately influencing eating behaviors such as food selection, appetite, and consumption. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the relationship between odor identification ability and dietary patterns in this population.

Methods

607 children and adolescents (275 boys and 332 girls) aged 6–17 years from China were recruited for this study. Odor identification performance was assessed using the Universal Sniff (U-Sniff) test, and dietary patterns were measured using the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ).

Results

Children and adolescents who poorly behaved in the U-Sniff test exhibited a greater tendency to choose processed foods, beverages and snacks, while this tendency was mainly observed in children aged 6–8 years.

Conclusions

Better odor identification ability has a positive impact on children and adolescents’ choice for healthier foods in their daily dietary intake.

查看原文本刊更多论文

垃圾食品还是健康食品？儿童和青少年气味识别能力与饮食模式的关系。

目的：饮食不安全的儿童和青少年有可能遭受不利的健康影响。一般来说，嗅觉能力在塑造食物味道感知、影响营养食物摄入、最终影响食物选择、食欲和消费等饮食行为方面尤为重要。因此，本研究旨在探讨该人群气味识别能力与饮食模式之间的关系。方法：从中国招募607名6-17岁的儿童和青少年（275名男孩和332名女孩）参与本研究。使用通用嗅探（U-Sniff）测试评估气味识别性能，使用食物频率问卷（FFQ）测量饮食模式。结果：在U-Sniff测试中表现不佳的儿童和青少年更倾向于选择加工食品、饮料和零食，而这种倾向主要见于6-8岁的儿童。结论：较好的气味识别能力对儿童青少年在日常膳食摄入中对健康食品的选择有积极影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Appetite 医学-行为科学

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

11.10%

发文量

566

审稿时长

13.4 weeks

期刊介绍： Appetite is an international research journal specializing in cultural, social, psychological, sensory and physiological influences on the selection and intake of foods and drinks. It covers normal and disordered eating and drinking and welcomes studies of both human and non-human animal behaviour toward food. Appetite publishes research reports, reviews and commentaries. Thematic special issues appear regularly. From time to time the journal carries abstracts from professional meetings. Submissions to Appetite are expected to be based primarily on observations directly related to the selection and intake of foods and drinks; papers that are primarily focused on topics such as nutrition or obesity will not be considered unless they specifically make a novel scientific contribution to the understanding of appetite in line with the journal's aims and scope.