Korean J Community Nutr.  2014 Oct;19(5):448-458. 10.5720/kjcn.2014.19.5.448.

The Relationship between Dietary Behaviors/health Risk Factors and Preference for Salty Taste among Korean Elderly People Living in Rural Areas

• Lee MS

• KMID: 2268108
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5720/kjcn.2014.19.5.448

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Increasing salt preferences with age are said to increase preferences of salty foods, thereby leading to greater sodium consumption, which has further implication for hypertension. This study examined the link between preference of salty taste and dietary factors and health-related risk factors in Korean elderly people.
METHODS
We studied 312 elderly individuals aged > 65 years (male, 100 and female, 212). With each subject, pleasant concentration of NaCl was estimated using the sipand-spit method. Dietary habits, food preferences, consumption frequencies, anthropometric and biochemical assessment were assessed.
RESULTS
The pleasant salt concentration was significantly increased in individuals older than 75 years (p < 0.05). Subjects who liked high concentration of salt showed significantly higher preferences for salty foods (p < 0.001). Results showed significant effects (p < 0.01) of fruit & fruit juice consumption frequencies, MNA (mini-nutritional assessment), cognition score, BMI, body fat %, waist circumference, arm circumference, calf circumference, vitamin D level that subjects who likes low salty taste were higher than subjects who likes high salty taste.
CONCLUSIONS
The preference for salty taste in the elderly was not correlated with hypertension. But, increased preference for salty taste with age and increased salty food preferences may result in higher sodium consumption. Therefore, nutritional education regarding lowering salt preference and favorable behaviors of low-salt diet is needed to improve the quality of life in the rural elderly.

Keyword

elderly; preference of salty taste; pleasant salt concentration

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue
Aged*
Arm
Cognition
Diet, Sodium-Restricted
Education
Female
Food Habits
Food Preferences
Fruit
Humans
Hypertension
Quality of Life
Risk Factors*
Sodium
Vitamin D
Waist Circumference
Sodium
Vitamin D

Reference

1. Bartoshuk LM. Clinical psychophysics of taste. Gerodontics. 1988; 4(5):249–255.

2. Blais CA, Pangborn RM, Borhani NO, Ferrell MF, Prineas RJ, Laing B. Effect of dietary sodium restriction on taste responses to sodium chloride: a longitudinal study. Am J Clin Nutr. 1986; 44(2):232–243.

3. Brown JE. Mini nutritional assessment. In : Brown JE, editor. Nutrition through the life cycle. 4th ed. Wadsworth;2010. p. 466.

4. Chang SO. Effect of 6-month low sodium diet on the salt taste perception and pleasantness, blood pressure and urinary sodium excretion in female college students. Korean J Nutr. 2010; 43(5):433–442.

5. Choi MJ, Jo HJ. Effect of sodium chloride supplementation on bone metabolism in rats consuming a low calcium diet. Korean J Nutr. 1996; 29(10):1096–1104.

6. Choi-Kwon S, Kim JS. Lifestyle factors and risk of stroke in Seoul, South Korea. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis. 1998; 7(6):414–420.

7. Chung EJ, Shim EG. Salt-related dietary behaviors and sodium intakes of university students in Gyeonggi-do. J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr. 2008; 37(5):578–588.

8. Dahl LK. Possible role of salt intake in the development of essential hypertention. Int J Epidemiol. 2005; 34(5):967–972.

9. De Souza JT, Matsubara LS, Menani JV, Matsubara BB, Johnson AK, De Gobbi JIF. Higher salt preference in heart failure patients. Appetite. 2012; 58(1):418–423.

10. Durack E, Alonso-Gomez M, Wilkinson MG. Salt: a review of its role in food science and public health. Curr Nutr Food Sci. 2008; 4(4):290–297.

11. Haddy FJ. Role of dietary salt in hypertension. Life Sci. 2006; 79(17):1585–1592.

12. He FJ, Markandu ND, Sagnella GA, de Wardener HE, MacGregor GA. Plasma sodium: ignored and underestimated. Hypertension. 2005; 45(1):98–102.

13. Intersalt Cooperative Research Group. Intersalt: an international study of electrolyte excretion and blood pressure, Results for 24 hour urinary sodium and potassium excretion. BMJ. 1988; 297(6644):319–328.

14. Jang YR, Chiriboga DA, Kim GY. Acculturation and manifestation of depressive symptoms among Korean American older adults. Korean J Res Gerontol. 2006; 15(1):51–73.

15. Jhoo JH, Kim KW, Lee DY, Youn JC, Lee TJ, Choo IH, Ko HJ, Seo EH, Woo JI. Comparison of the performance in two different Korean versions of Mini-Mental State Examination: MMSE-KC and K-MMSE. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 2005; 44(1):98–104.

16. Jung EJ, Kwon JS, Ahn SH, Son SM. Blood pressure, sodium intake and dietary behavior changes by session attendance on salt reduction education program for pre-hypertensive adults in a public health center. Korean J Community Nutr. 2013; 18(6):626–643.

17. Kawano Y. Salt, hypertention, and cardiovascular diseases. J Korean Soc Hypertens. 2012; 18(2):53–62.

18. Kim DW, Lee MS, Na BJ, Hong JY. Health-related dietary behaviors and lifestyle factors associated with sodium hyperinjestion in Korean adults. J Korea Acad Industr Coop Soc. 2013; 14(7):3326–3337.

19. Kim GH, Lee HM. Frequent consumption of certain fast foods may be associated with an enhanced preference for salt taste. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2009; 22(5):475–480.

20. Kim HH, Jung YY, Lee YK. A comparison salty taste assessments and dietary attitudes and dietary behaviors associated with high-salt diets in four regions in Korea. Korean J Community Nutr. 2012; 17(1):38–48.

21. Kim HH, Shin EK, Lee HJ, Lee NH, Chun BY, Ann MY, Lee YK. Evaluation of the effectiveness of a salt reduction program for employees. Korean J Nutr. 2009; 42(4):350–357.

22. Kim JH, Choi MK. Salt intake behavior and blood pressure: the effect of taste sensitivity and preference. Korean J Hum Ecol. 2007; 16(4):837–848.

23. Kim KS, Paik HY. A comparative study on optimum gustation of salt and sodium intake in young and middle-aged Korean women. Korean J Nutr. 1992; 25(1):32–41.

24. Kim MK, Han JI, Chung YJ. Dietary behavior related to salty food intake of adults living in a rural area according to saline sensitivity. Korean J Nutr. 2011; 44(6):537–550.

25. Kim MK, Kim K, Shin MH, Shin DH, Lee YH, Chun BY, Choi BY. The relationship of dietary sodium, potassium, fruits, and vegetables intake with blood pressure among Korean adults aged 40 and older. Nutr Res Pract. 2014; 8(4):453–462.

26. Korea Health Statistics. Ministry of Health Welfare & Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES V-3) 2012. 2013.

27. Kwon YC, Park JH. Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-K) Part I: Development of the test for the elderly. J Korean Neuropsychiatr Assoc. 1989; 28(1):125–135.

28. Lee HS. Studies on salt intake through eat-out foods in Andong area. Korean J Soc Food Sci. 1997; 13(3):314–318.

29. Lee MS. Taste perceptions of middle-aged and elderly people living in rural areas: relationships among threshold, taste preference and physical activity. Korean J Community Nutr. 2010; 15(5):670–678.

30. Lee MS. Association between preferences of salty food and acuity and preferences of taste of the elderly people living in rural area. Korean J Community Nutr. 2013; 18(3):223–232.

31. Lee MS, Kim SA. The influence of health-related habits on nutrient intake and food frequency of middle-aged subjects in Seoul. Korean J Community Nutr. 2003; 8(5):699–707.

32. Lee MS, Woo MK. A study on the factors influencing food consumption by food frequency questionnaire for the middle aged and elderly in the Chonju area. Korean J Community Nutr. 2001; 6(5):789–797.

33. Lee YH, Kim HK, Kwon GH. Compliance with a low-salt diet, sodium intake, and preferred salty taste in the hypertensive elderly. J Korean Acad Public Health Nurs. 2010; 24(2):311–322.

34. Leshem M. Biobehavior of the human love of salt. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2009; 33(1):1–17.

35. Lucas L, Riddell L, Liem G, Whitelock S, Keast R. The influence of sodium on liking and consumption of salty food. J Food Sci. 2011; 76(1):S72–S76.

36. Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Sodium Reduction Campaign Headquarters. 2012. cited September 12, 2014. Available from http://www.foodnara.go.kr/Na_down/index.jsp.

37. Mizushima S, Tsuchida K, Yamori Y. Preventive nutritional factors in epidemiology: interaction between sodium and calcium. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 1999; 26(7):573–575.

38. Moon HK, Choi SO, Kim JE. Dishes contributing to sodium intake of elderly living in rural areas. Korean J Community Nutr. 2009; 14(1):123–136.

39. Murphy C, Withee J. Age-related differences in the pleasantness of chemosensory stimuli. Psychol Aging. 1986; 1(4):312–318.

40. Nam HS, Kim KY, Kwon IS, Koh KW, Kind Poul. EQ-5D Korean valuation study using time trade-off method. Seoul: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC);2007. cited November 21, 2012. Available from http://www.cdc.go.kr/.

41. Nordin S, Razani LJ, Markison S, Murphy C. Age-associated increases in intensity discrimination for taste. Exp Aging Res. 2003; 29(3):371–381.

42. Pangborn RM, Pecore SD. Taste perception of sodium chloride in relation to dietary intake of salt. Am J Clin Nutr. 1982; 35(3):510–520.

43. Rolfes SR, Pinna K, Whitney E. Understanding normal and clinical Nutrition. 8th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth;2009. p. 856–859.

44. Ronksley PE, Brien SE, Turner BJ, Mukamal KJ, Ghali WA. Association of alcohol consumption with selected cardiovascular disease outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2011; 342:d671.

45. Schiffman SS, Gatlin CA. Clinical physiology of taste and smell. Annu Rev Nutr. 1993; 13:405–436.

46. Shin EK, Lee HJ, Ahn MY, Lee YK. Study on the development and evaluation of validity of salty taste assessment tool. Korean J Nutr. 2008; 41(2):184–191.

47. Shin EK, Lee HJ, Jun SY, Park EJ, Jung YY, Ahn MY, Lee YK. Development and evaluation of nutrition education program for sodium reduction in foodservice operations. Korean J Community Nutr. 2008; 13(2):216–227.

48. Son MK. Association between alcohol consumption and hypertension. J Korean Soc Hypertens. 2011; 17(2):65–73.

49. Stevens JC, Cruz LA, Hoffman JM, Patterson MQ. Taste sensitivity and aging: high incidence of decline revealed by repeated threshold measures. Chem Senses. 1995; 20(4):451–459.

50. Sung SJ, Jung DG, Lee WK, Kim YJ, Lee HS. Life style and eating behavior of stroke patients in Daegu and Gyeongbuk province, Korea. J Korean Soc Food Sci Nutr. 2009; 38(3):319–332.

51. Teucher B, Dainty JR, Spinks CA, Majsak-Newman G, Berry DJ, Hoogewerff JA, Foxall RJ, Jakobsen J, Cashman KD, Flynn A, Fairweather-Tait SJ. Sodium and bone health: impact of moderately high and low salt intakes on calcium metabolism in postmenopausal women. J Bone Miner Res. 2008; 23(9):1477–1485.

52. The EuroQoL group. EuroQoL - a new facility for the measurement of health-related quality of life. Health Policy. 1990; 16(3):199–208.

53. Ueshima H, Sekikawa A, Miura K, Turin TC, Takashima N, Kita Y, Watanabe M, Kadota A, Okuda N, Kadowaki T, Nakamura Y, Okamura T. Cardiovascular disease and risk factors in Asia: a selected review. Circulation. 2008; 118(25):2702–2709.

54. Yang WG, Chen CB, Wang ZX, Liu YP, Wen XY, Zhang SF, Sun TW. A case-control study on the relationship between salt intake and salty taste and risk of gastric cancer. World J Gastroenterol. 2011; 17(15):2049–2053.

55. Yon M, Lee MS, Oh SI, Park SC, Kwak CS. Assessment of food consumption, dietary diversity and dietary pattern during the summer in middle aged adults and older adults living in Gugoksoondam longevity area, Korea. Korean J Community Nutr. 2010; 15(4):536–549.