Le goût et l'attirance pour le sucré chez l'enfant et l'adolescent

Abstract

Sweet taste induces a normal and natural sensation of pleasure, particularly in children. Recent developments in genetics show that genes TAS1R2 and TAS1R3 clustered in human chromosome 1, have an effect on perception and attraction to sweetness. At a neurophysiological level taste information goes through the reward system and lateral hypothalamus. From birth, sweet stimulation generates a reaction of pleasure. Sweetness can also induce a decrease of pain in newborns. The sense of taste plays a determinant role in the analgesic power of sugar. In children, sensitivity to sugar tends to increase with age although preference for this taste decreases globally. At the opposite pleasure for bitterness develops later, increases progressively and stabilizes in adulthood. Sugar is commonly judged as being responsible for weight gain in children and adolescents. Strict rules of consumption of sugar are sometimes imposed within families in order to limit it access, but these rules can have an adverse effect if they are perceived as being restrictive by the child or the adolescent. Affective context of tasting is essential for the perception of pleasure. Memory of food flavour in an intense affective context can be extremely robust. It is been hypothesized that memory plays a crucial role in the development of taste and attraction to sweetness. © Lavoisier - La photocopie non autorisée est un délit.