[Relationship between sweetness liking, taste sensitivity and sweetening habits in adults].

The present work analyses the relationship between the sweetness liking and the age, gender, sweet taste sensitivity, hedonic response to low concentrations of the saccharose and the habit of sweetening in adults. 161 women and 114 men, aged 18-55, were the subject of this study. All individuals were healthy and non-smoking. In the study the volunteering subjects rated their individual sweetness liking by means of a scaling method with three categories: I like it very much, I like it moderately, I do not like it, and they quantified the amount of sugar they take with their tea or coffee. Also their date of birth, height and body mass were taken into consideration. The sweet taste sensitivity was marked with the use of the method correlating with PN-ISO 3972: 1998 norm, and the hedonic responses were analysed according to the three-point scale: pleasant, unpleasant, neutral. The findings suggest that the interrelation between the age and the sweetness liking in adults exists. No link between the gender, as well as hedonic response to low concentrations of saccharose and the degree of sweetness acceptance in adults was observed. The amount of sugar taken with tea or coffee was different in groups with different sweetness liking, however, the degree of the sweet taste sensitivity is not always a sufficient factor to determine the predicted sugar intake.