Sweetness preference and its association with socio-demographic characteristics in Hong Kong children

Abstract

AIM: Sweetness preference has been associated with socio-demographic characteristics, although the results were inconsistent. We assessed the prevalence of sweetness preference in Hong Kong children and identified its socio-demographic correlates. METHODS: Socio-demographic and lifestyle profiles of 106127 Grade 4 students (mean age 9.9±0.7, 50.9% boys) were recorded by the Student Health Service in 1998-2000. Sweetness preference was assessed by a 4-option questionnaire item “My attitude towards sweet food is”. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to investigate the association of sweetness preference with 8 socio-demographic factors. RESULTS: The prevalence of the 4 options was: “I like them very much” (denoting sweetness preference, 37.5%), “they are acceptable” (49.5%), “I’ll try a little” (8.7%) and “I dislike them” (4.3%). Younger students and girls (adjusted odds ratio 1.03, 95% CI 1.00-1.06) were more likely to have a sweetness preference. Fathers with primary or below education (vs tertiary; 1.14, 1.08-1.21), and with occupations of clerk/service industry (vs manager/professional; 1.21, 1.12-1.31), and mothers with occupations of manual work (vs manager/professional; 1.18, 1.10-1.27) were associated with sweetness preference. No significant association between maternal education and sweetness preference was observed. Public or temporary housing (vs private housing; 1.11, 1.08-1.14) also predicted sweetness preference. However, sweetness preference was associated with living in districts with higher median income (highest vs lowest quartile; 1.06, 1.02-1.09). CONCLUSIONS: Younger age, being girls, and lower parental socioeconomic status in general were associated with sweetness preference in Hong Kong children.