ReviewThe American journal of clinical nutrition2014
Ontogeny of taste preferences: basic biology and implications for health.
Review in The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 178 papers, 3 of them syntheses 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.
Developing and Testing Implementation Strategies for Evidence-Based Obesity Prevention in Childcare
Determination of Perinatal Exposure to Non-caloric Sweeteners. Implications for the Development of Preferences for Sweet Taste, and Weight Gain During the First Year of Life
Impact on Drinking Behaviour in Sixth-grade Students Through Changing the School Environment
Who cites it
178 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 436 citations in OpenAlex.
- Poor-tasting pediatric medicines: Part 1. A scoping review of their impact on patient acceptability, medication adherence, and treatment outcomes.Frontiers in drug delivery · 2025Pooled it
- Children's nutritional health and wellbeing in food insecure households in Europe: A qualitative meta-ethnography.PloS one · 2023Pooled it
- Influence of food companies' brand mascots and entertainment companies' cartoon media characters on children's diet and health: a systematic review and research needs.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2015Pooled it
- Association Between Diet Patterns of Human Infants and Growth Differs Across Randomized Formula Groups in the First 18.5 Months.The Journal of nutrition · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Associations between maternal diet, family eating habits and preschool children's dietary patterns: insights from the UPBEAT trial.Nutrition journal · 2024Trial
- Obesity prevention practices in early care and education settings: an adaptive implementation trial.Implementation science : IS · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Influence of pre-schooler and parent nutrition education on carotenoid levels of Mexican-heritage children.Public health nutrition · 2020Trial
- Calories, Caffeine and the Onset of Obesity in Young Children.Academic pediatrics · 2020Trial
- Are Sugar-Reduced and Whole Grain Infant Cereals Sensorially Accepted at Weaning? A Randomized Controlled Cross-Over Trial.Nutrients · 2020Trial
- Trial
- Impact of a Modified Version of Baby-Led Weaning on Dietary Variety and Food Preferences in Infants.Nutrients · 2018Trial
- High-Fructose Corn-Syrup-Sweetened Beverage Intake Increases 5-Hour Breast Milk Fructose Concentrations in Lactating Women.Nutrients · 2018Trial
- A mixed methods protocol for developing and testing implementation strategies for evidence-based obesity prevention in childcare: a cluster randomized hybrid type III trial.Implementation science : IS · 2017Trial
- Learning to like vegetables during breastfeeding: a randomized clinical trial of lactating mothers and infants.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2017Trial
- Study protocol for a multi-component kindergarten-based intervention to promote healthy diets in toddlers: a cluster randomized trial.BMC public health · 2016Trial
- High-fat diet-related stimulation of sweetness desire is greater in women than in men despite high vegetable intake.Public health nutrition · 2015Trial
- Bringing WISE Home: Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Preschool Nutrition Curriculum in Rural Home Visits.Journal of nutrition education and behavior · 2026Article
118 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
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Health initiatives address childhood obesity in part by encouraging good nutrition early in life. This review highlights the science that shows that children naturally prefer higher levels of sweet and salty tastes and reject lower levels of bitter tastes than do adults. Thus, their basic biology does not predispose them to favor the recommended low-sugar, low-sodium, vegetable-rich diets and makes them especially vulnerable to our current food environment of foods high in salt and refined sugars. The good news is that sensory experiences, beginning early in life, can shape preferences. Mothers who consume diets rich in healthy foods can get children off to a good start because flavors are transmitted from the maternal diet to amniotic fluid and mother's milk, and breastfed infants are more accepting of these flavors. In contrast, infants fed formula learn to prefer its unique flavor profile and may have more difficulty initially accepting flavors not found in formula, such as those of fruit and vegetables. Regardless of early feeding mode, infants can learn through repeated exposure and dietary variety if caregivers focus on the child's willingness to consume a food and not just the facial expressions made during feeding. In addition, providing complementary foods low in salt and sugars may help protect the developing child from excess intake later in life. Early-life experiences with healthy tastes and flavors may go a long way toward promoting healthy eating, which could have a significant impact in addressing the many chronic illnesses associated with poor food choice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.