Taste perception, food neophobia and preferences in vulnerable populations : case study among children and adolescents with obesity and diabetes

Obesity and Type 1 diabetes (T1D) are two of the most common systemic diseases in childhood which predispose the patient to serious short-term and long-term complications, affecting all body systems. Although obesity and T1D present a different pathogenesis, are both defined as chronic diseases on which a healthy and balanced diet is an important part of the therapy of children and adolescent affected by these pathologies. Since subjects in younger age group generally fall short of meeting dietary guidelines to maintain good metabolic control and weight reduction, seems important to focus on individual related factors with a proposed link to weight gain or diabetes due to the fact that studies involving children and adolescents are globally lacking. In this context, the aim of the present study was to compare taste perception in children and adolescents affected by T1D or obesity with healthy controls in a cross-sectional study. Moreover, food neophobia and preferences for specific food categories were evaluated in the three groups in order to understand whether this maladaptive eating behaviour, as well as reduced taste sensitivity, could be related to different attitude toward foods which may further complicate adherence to T1D or obesity management. 31 T1D patients (DB, 55% F), 34 obese (OB, 45% F) and 33 healthy control subjects (CT, 56% F) aged between six and fourteen years old were recruited. Results showed that OB and T1D patients presented a significantly lower ability to correctly identify taste qualities and were characterized by fewer fungiform papillae compared to controls, as well as a lower responsiveness to the bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil. There were no significant differences in food neophobia scores between the three groups, but differences were observed in the mean hedonic ratings for some food product categories among subjects characterized by different levels of neophobia. The potentiality of the present study could improve knowledge regarding perceptions of taste in vulnerable population that may be useful to understand the vicious cycle leading glycaemic control deterioration and could help to better understand and deepen the sensory-driven factors related to weight gain.