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Low income and access to healthy food choices
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ABSTRACTS
Low Income and Access to Healthy Food Choices. ANGELA HEHIR. Department of Nutrition and Social Health, University of South Australia, Underdale, SA 5032, Australia. A number of studies have shown that purchase of a diet in line with the Dietary Guidelines can place greater strain on the food budget, while often requiring unrealistic skill and motivational levels. This study was designed to determine whether there was a significant difference in the cost of two small baskets of foods, representing basic items that might be purchased for an evening meal. One basket contained healthy choices and the other was similar but with some less healthy options substituted. The study also investigated the suggestion that price differentials existed throughout metropolitan Adelaide, placing additional stresses on low income budgets. The results of this survey of 33 supermarkets showed that the less healthy basket was consistently cheaper, with an average cost of $9.83, compared with $12.75 for the healthier basket. One supermarket chain was then compared across different suburbs in metropolitan Adelaide. It was found that the cheapest basket of food ($7.16) could be purchased in an area of high socio-economic status, while the most expensive ($13.00) was found in a low income area. Such findings have implications for nutrition educators in understanding the constraints experienced by those on low income, and in finding solutions to such inequities.
Sensitivity of Taste in Children and Adults. C. JAMES and D. G. LAING. University of Western Sydney, Australia. There is little information available on the functionality of the sense of taste in children. This information is required by food manufacturers as their need to produce new products for the children's market increases. Studies in this laboratory are aimed at determining when the sense of taste becomes adult. They are examining the ability of 8-year-old children to perform an array of gustatory tasks. Their results will be compared with those of adults undergoing the same tests. A variety of functions of the taste system are being investigated including: sensitivity to the four basic tastes; sweet, sour, salty and bitter; ability to discriminate different levels of the same tastant, and the perception of mixtures (synergism and antagonism). The sensitivity study has been completed and shows differences between the groups tested. Male children were three to five times less sensitive to all four tastes than adults, whereas female children have a similar sensitivity to adults in all tastes except sour. The female children were significantly more sensitive than male children to all tastes with the exception of sour. This study indicates that children have a less-developed taste system than adults and this will be more thoroughly investigated by the remaining tests.
Serving Milk vs. Water to Lunch at the Daycare Centre Influences Children's Choice of Lunchtime Drink at the Elementary School. U-K. KOIVISTO, P-O, SJ£)DEN and B. EDLUND. Centre for Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. The purpose was to study if serving milk vs. water with the preschool lunch influences children's (aged 6-7 years) preferences for and later choices of school lunch drink. All children (n= 147) at 12 daycare centres participating, were served water for lunch prior to this study. During an intervention period of three months, six randomly chosen centres served milk at lunch (Intervention group) and six matched centres continued serving water (Control group). Children's preferences for different beverages (including water) were studied on two different occasions; before and after the intervention. Four and 12 months later, children's choices of
ABSTRACTS
Low Income and Access to Healthy Food Choices. ANGELA HEHIR. Department of Nutrition and Social Health, University of South Australia, Underdale, SA 5032, Australia. A number of studies have shown that purchase of a diet in line with the Dietary Guidelines can place greater strain on the food budget, while often requiring unrealistic skill and motivational levels. This study was designed to determine whether there was a significant difference in the cost of two small baskets of foods, representing basic items that might be purchased for an evening meal. One basket contained healthy choices and the other was similar but with some less healthy options substituted. The study also investigated the suggestion that price differentials existed throughout metropolitan Adelaide, placing additional stresses on low income budgets. The results of this survey of 33 supermarkets showed that the less healthy basket was consistently cheaper, with an average cost of $9.83, compared with $12.75 for the healthier basket. One supermarket chain was then compared across different suburbs in metropolitan Adelaide. It was found that the cheapest basket of food ($7.16) could be purchased in an area of high socio-economic status, while the most expensive ($13.00) was found in a low income area. Such findings have implications for nutrition educators in understanding the constraints experienced by those on low income, and in finding solutions to such inequities.
Sensitivity of Taste in Children and Adults. C. JAMES and D. G. LAING. University of Western Sydney, Australia. There is little information available on the functionality of the sense of taste in children. This information is required by food manufacturers as their need to produce new products for the children's market increases. Studies in this laboratory are aimed at determining when the sense of taste becomes adult. They are examining the ability of 8-year-old children to perform an array of gustatory tasks. Their results will be compared with those of adults undergoing the same tests. A variety of functions of the taste system are being investigated including: sensitivity to the four basic tastes; sweet, sour, salty and bitter; ability to discriminate different levels of the same tastant, and the perception of mixtures (synergism and antagonism). The sensitivity study has been completed and shows differences between the groups tested. Male children were three to five times less sensitive to all four tastes than adults, whereas female children have a similar sensitivity to adults in all tastes except sour. The female children were significantly more sensitive than male children to all tastes with the exception of sour. This study indicates that children have a less-developed taste system than adults and this will be more thoroughly investigated by the remaining tests.
Serving Milk vs. Water to Lunch at the Daycare Centre Influences Children's Choice of Lunchtime Drink at the Elementary School. U-K. KOIVISTO, P-O, SJ£)DEN and B. EDLUND. Centre for Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. The purpose was to study if serving milk vs. water with the preschool lunch influences children's (aged 6-7 years) preferences for and later choices of school lunch drink. All children (n= 147) at 12 daycare centres participating, were served water for lunch prior to this study. During an intervention period of three months, six randomly chosen centres served milk at lunch (Intervention group) and six matched centres continued serving water (Control group). Children's preferences for different beverages (including water) were studied on two different occasions; before and after the intervention. Four and 12 months later, children's choices of