AsianScientist (Apr. 19, 2011) – A recent study published in the journal Acta Paediatrica by researchers from the University of New South Wales has found that 10 percent of children between the ages of 8 and 12 could not correctly identify a taste as sweet, salty, bitter or sour.
Indigenous children fared even worse, with 12 percent of those tested showing problems.
The study included 432 children aged 8-12 years from six public schools in Dubbo in central western NSW. The cohort comprised 166 Aboriginal children and 266 non-Aboriginal children.
The most common problem was identifying sweetness, with 65.9 percent of the 41 children with taste disorders unable to identify this taste. However, many of the children in the study had more than one taste disorder.
According to the author of the study, UNSW professor of neuropsychology David Laing, impairment of taste can be caused by a variety of diseases and conditions including Bell’s palsy, renal failure and diabetes, and by disorders of the oral cavity, salivary glands and middle ear infections.
“The high rate of middle ear infections in Aboriginal children under the age of six could explain the high prevalence of taste disorders in this group,” he said. “Regardless of the causes, the incidence of taste disorders in both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children is high. And given the age of the children, it is likely that for many their taste loss is permanent.”
Professor Laing believes that the findings in his study are significant, as taste disorders have been shown to contribute to gross changes in eating behavior and could be one of the contributing factors to the rising epidemic of childhood obesity.
“No population-wide study into the prevalence of taste loss has ever been undertaken in Australia. A wider investigation into the causes and the consequences of the inability to perceive the tastes of foods is urgently needed,” said Laing.
The article can be found at: Laing DG et al. (2011) Taste disorders in Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children.
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Source: University of New South Wales.
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