Background: Increased preference for fat and sugar or reduced taste sensitivity may play a role in overweight an
obesity development, but sensory perceptions are probably influenced already during childhood by food cultures
and common dietary habits. We summaries the main findings of a large-scale epidemiological study conducted in
Italy, Estonia, Cyprus, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, Hungary and Spain. We measured the taste preferences and the
taste thresholds in 1,839 children aged 6 to 9 years and investigated factors that might influence the observed
preferences as well as their association with weight status.