Snacks, Smiles and Taste Preferences

Temple University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Development, Child

Treatments: Behavioral: Regular Sweet; Behavioral: Low Sweet

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT03631992

24653

R01DC016616 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

The research study is designed is to determine whether children's acceptance of low sugar snacks, most preferred level of sweet and salty taste, and dietary intake of added sugars changes after repeated exposure to snacks lower in sweetness when compared to the control group.

Full description

This is a longitudinal, randomized, within- and between- subject study of children and their mothers to determine whether children's repeated exposure to snacks lower in sweetness and mothers' educational lessons about dental health and nutrition (intervention group) affects children's acceptance of low sugar snacks, most preferred level of sweet and salty taste, and dietary intake of added sugars when compared to the control group.

Enrollment: 172 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 3 to 6 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• English speaking mother 18 years or older
• Mother has primary responsibility for the eligible child's care
• Mother has primary responsibility for feeding the eligible child
• Mother is responsible for purchasing food for the family
• Mother must be willing to refrain from eating food and beverages high in added sugars in the eligible child's presence for the duration of the study

Exclusion criteria

• Child is in full-day daycare or school
• Child is currently on a special diet (e.g. weight management programs)
• Child has severe food allergies (e.g. gluten, peanuts)
• Child has medical conditions know to affect growth or eating (e.g. diabetes, cystic fibrosis)
• Mother is a current smoker

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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172 participants in 2 patient groups

Low Sweet

Experimental group

Description:

Children in intervention group will be provided with daily snacks lower in added sugar and sweetness and their mothers will receive educational lessons on dental care, reading food labels, and nutrition that support the goals of reducing "sweet" exposure and added sugar intake.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Low Sweet

Regular Sweet

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Children in the regular sweet control group will be provided with common snacks fed to children of this age and mothers will be given education lessons on portion size, physical activity, sleep, screen time and, at the end of the trial, dental care.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Regular Sweet