How does taste influence food preferences and food intake in early childhood?

Humans are born with very few flavor preference. The most consistent observations concern taste: newborns exhibit an early attraction for the sweet taste, in opposition to the avoidance of the bitter taste. Odor preferences are less obvious and are generally related to prenatal learning and/or have biological relevance (Schaal, 2006). The objectives of this presentation will be to describe the early taste preference, how they evolve in early infancy (Schwartz, Issanchou, & Nicklaus, 2009), and how the taste of the foods or the individual attraction toward tastes might influence food preference in infancy (Schwartz, Chabanet, Lange, Issanchou, & Nicklaus, 2011), as well as food intake in early childhood (Bouhlal, Issanchou, & Nicklaus, 2011)