Do early taste experiences persist in influencing the food preferences of school-age children?

Objective. - The continuity of food preferences established during utero and postnatal phase is not well assessed. The aim of this study was to analyse the relation ship between early taste exposures and children's food preferences at school age. Materials and Methods. - The persistence of early food preferences was measured in 175 children aged between 7 and 11 years. Two questionnaires were used; the first aimed to measure early taste experiences during pregnancy, breastfeeding and diversification period, and the second assessed children's current food preferences in relation to six food categories. Children's early preferences were grouped into likes and dislikes for each period. The mean scores of the current preferences were compared with the early preferences for each child. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS V25 software. The significance level was set at 0.05. Results. - The type and duration of breastfeeding had no influence on the continuity of children's food preferences. Regarding the persistence of food preferences, vegetables and sweet foods were the first categories to change between the pregnancy and the diversification period, the other categories (fruit, dairy, meat and substitutes) remained stable between pregnancy and diversification and then changed between the diversification period and the current period. Cereals and starches remained stable from the gestation phase. Conclusion. - Food preferences established during utero and postnatal period changed gradually, and did not continue to influence the child's food choices at school age. Their impact was proportional and short term. (c) 2021 Socie acute accent te acute accent fran- cophone nutrition clinique et me acute accent tabolisme (SFNCM). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.