ReviewCurrent opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care2011
Innate and learned preferences for sweet taste during childhood.
Review in Current opinion in clinical nutrition and metabolic care, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 118 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
118 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Does low-energy sweetener consumption affect energy intake and body weight? A systematic review, including meta-analyses, of the evidence from human and animal studies.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2016Pooled it
- Sowing the Seeds of Taste? A Novel Approach to Investigate the Impact of Early Sweet Exposure on Children's Dietary Taste Patterns from 12 to 36 Mo.The Journal of nutrition · 2025Trial
- Effectiveness of an Intervention to Prevent Ultra-Processed Foods and Added Sugar in the First Year of Life: A Multicentre Randomised Controlled Trial in Brazil.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Trial
- Effect of Choice of Flavor of Fluoride Varnish on Behavior in Dental Visits in Schoolchildren.Clinical and experimental dental research · 2025Trial
- Trial
- The Intervention Nurses Start Infants Growing on Healthy Trajectories (INSIGHT) Responsive Parenting Intervention for Firstborns Affects Dietary Intake of Secondborn Infants.The Journal of nutrition · 2020Trial
- Are Sugar-Reduced and Whole Grain Infant Cereals Sensorially Accepted at Weaning? A Randomized Controlled Cross-Over Trial.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- Energy and nutrient intake increased by 47-67% when amylase was added to fortified blended foods-a study among 12- to 35-month-old Burkinabe children.Maternal & child nutrition · 2018Trial
- Provision of lipid-based nutrient supplements to Honduran children increases their dietary macro- and micronutrient intake without displacing other foods.Maternal & child nutrition · 2015Trial
- Early Sweet Tooth: Juice Introduction During Early Infancy is Related to Toddler Juice Intake.Academic pediatricsTrial
- Engaging visual media shifts taste-related neural processing: An fMRI study on distracted eating.Neuroimage. Reports · 2026Article
- Rethinking fussiness in commercial food contexts.Health promotion international · 2026Article
- Review
- Tiny Tummies, Big Questions: Unpacking Ultra-Processed Ingredients and Additives in Complementary Foods in the United States.Nutrients · 2026Article
- The Intersection of Tap Water Avoidance, Food Insecurity, and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Among U.S. Children and Adolescents Aged 2-17 Years.American journal of preventive medicine · 2026Article
- Omics Sciences in Dentistry: A Narrative Review on Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications for Prevalent Oral Diseases.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Genetic and Environmental Influences on Sweet Taste Liking and Related Traits: New Insights from Twin Cohorts.Behavior genetics · 2025Article
- Sweetness Ratings of U.S. Infant Formulas.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Nutrition transition's latest stage: Are ultra-processed food increases in low- and middle-income countries dooming our preschoolers' diets and future health?Pediatric obesity · 2025Article
- US infant formulas contain primarily added sugars: An analysis of infant formulas on the US market.Journal of food composition and analysis : an official publication of the United Nations University, International Network of Food Data Systems · 2025Article
58 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purpose of reviewIn nature, carbohydrates are a source of energy often equated with sweetness, the detection of which is associated with powerful hedonic appeal. Intakes of processed carbohydrates in the form of added sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages have risen consistently among all age groups over the last two decades. In this review, we describe the biological underpinnings that drive the consumption of sweet-tasting foods among pediatric populations. RECENT
findingsScientific literature suggests that children's liking for all that is sweet is not solely a product of modern-day technology and advertising but reflects their basic biology. In fact, heightened preference for sweet-tasting foods and beverages during childhood is universal and evident among infants and children around the world. The liking for sweet tastes during development may have ensured the acceptance of sweet-tasting foods, such as mother's milk and fruits. Moreover, recent research suggests that liking for sweets may be further promoted by the pain-reducing properties of sugars. SUMMARY: An examination of the basic biology of sweet taste during childhood provides insight, as well as new perspectives, for how to modify children's preferences for and intakes of sweet foods to improve their diet quality.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.