Snacks, Smiles and Taste Preferences

NCT ID: NCT03631992

Last Updated: 2024-10-22

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

172 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2018-10-09

Study Completion Date

2024-10-18

Brief Summary

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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.

Detailed Description

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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.

Conditions

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Development, Child

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

The intervention group will receive snacks lower in added sugar and sweetness (children) and educational lessons on dental care, food labels, added sugar, and portion size (mothers) whereas the control group will receive typical snacks (children) and educational lessons on portion size, sleep, screen time, and physical activity (mothers). Control group will receive the educational lessons of the intervention group at the end of the trial.
Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

TRIPLE

Participants Investigators Outcome Assessors
Participants and outcome assessors will be blind to hypotheses and group assignment. Investigators will be blind to the group assignment during statistical analyses.

Study Groups

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Low Sweet

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.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Low Sweet

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Children in the experimental group get repeated exposure to lower sweet snacks and mothers get education lessons on dental care, reading food labels, portion size, and nutrition.

Regular Sweet

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.

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

Regular Sweet

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Children in sham comparator get typical snacks and mothers get education lessons on portion size, physical activity, sleep, and screen time.

Interventions

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Low Sweet

Children in the experimental group get repeated exposure to lower sweet snacks and mothers get education lessons on dental care, reading food labels, portion size, and nutrition.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Regular Sweet

Children in sham comparator get typical snacks and mothers get education lessons on portion size, physical activity, sleep, and screen time.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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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
Minimum Eligible Age

3 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

6 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Monell Chemical Senses Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

Temple University

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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Julia Mennella, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Monell Chemical Senses Center

Jennifer O Fisher, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Temple University

Locations

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Monell Chemical Senses Center

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Temple University

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Mennella JA, Lukasewycz LD, Griffith JW, Beauchamp GK. Evaluation of the Monell forced-choice, paired-comparison tracking procedure for determining sweet taste preferences across the lifespan. Chem Senses. 2011 May;36(4):345-55. doi: 10.1093/chemse/bjq134. Epub 2011 Jan 12.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 21227904 (View on PubMed)

Nash SH, Kristal AR, Hopkins SE, Boyer BB, O'Brien DM. Stable isotope models of sugar intake using hair, red blood cells, and plasma, but not fasting plasma glucose, predict sugar intake in a Yup'ik study population. J Nutr. 2014 Jan;144(1):75-80. doi: 10.3945/jn.113.182113. Epub 2013 Nov 6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24198311 (View on PubMed)

Mennella JA, Finkbeiner S, Lipchock SV, Hwang LD, Reed DR. Preferences for salty and sweet tastes are elevated and related to each other during childhood. PLoS One. 2014 Mar 17;9(3):e92201. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092201. eCollection 2014.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24637844 (View on PubMed)

Wardle J, Guthrie CA, Sanderson S, Rapoport L. Development of the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2001 Oct;42(7):963-70. doi: 10.1111/1469-7610.00792.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11693591 (View on PubMed)

Vandeweghe L, Verbeken S, Moens E, Vervoort L, Braet C. Strategies to improve the Willingness to Taste: The moderating role of children's Reward Sensitivity. Appetite. 2016 Aug 1;103:344-352. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2016.04.017. Epub 2016 Apr 19.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 27103060 (View on PubMed)

Hughes SO, Power TG, Orlet Fisher J, Mueller S, Nicklas TA. Revisiting a neglected construct: parenting styles in a child-feeding context. Appetite. 2005 Feb;44(1):83-92. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2004.08.007. Epub 2004 Nov 13.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15604035 (View on PubMed)

Sharafi M, Rawal S, Fernandez ML, Huedo-Medina TB, Duffy VB. Taste phenotype associates with cardiovascular disease risk factors via diet quality in multivariate modeling. Physiol Behav. 2018 Oct 1;194:103-112. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.05.005. Epub 2018 May 8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 29746892 (View on PubMed)

Martignon S, Gonzalez MC, Tellez M, Guzman A, Quintero IK, Saenz V, Martinez M, Mora A, Espinosa LF, Castiblanco GA. Schoolchildren's tooth brushing characteristics and oral hygiene habits assessed with video-recorded sessions at school and a questionnaire. Acta Odontol Latinoam. 2012;25(2):163-70.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23230636 (View on PubMed)

Mennella JA, Pepino MY, Lehmann-Castor SM, Yourshaw LM. Sweet preferences and analgesia during childhood: effects of family history of alcoholism and depression. Addiction. 2010 Apr;105(4):666-75. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02865.x. Epub 2010 Feb 9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 20148789 (View on PubMed)

Smethers AD, Fisher JO, Carney EM, Coffman DL, Mennella JA. Carbon stable isotope values in hair are associated with added sugar intake in adults but not young children: a cross-sectional study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2025 Apr;121(4):900-909. doi: 10.1016/j.ajcnut.2025.02.013. Epub 2025 Feb 18.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 39978470 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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R01DC016616

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

24653

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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