PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Sophie Nicklaus

Publications and source records attributed to Sophie Nicklaus.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

A prospective study of food variety seeking in childhood, adolescence and early adult life.

This prospective study of food variety seeking among children was conducted between 1982 and 1999, with a follow-up in 2001-2002. Two- to three-year-old children were given a free choice of lunch foods in a nursery canteen. Their food choices were recorded and used to calculate early variety seeking scores, globally and by food group (vegetables, animal products, dairy products, starchy foods and combined dishes). The same subjects (n=339) were contacted in 2001-2002, when they were: 17-22 (n=89), 13-16 (n=68), 8-12 (n=99) and 4-7 years of age (n=83). Follow-up variety seeking, globally and by food group, and food neophobia were evaluated using questionnaire instruments. Variety seeking at follow-up increased with early variety seeking and to a lesser extent with age, and decreased with food neophobia. Early and follow-up variety seeking scores were highly related for dairy products and vegetables. Follow-up variety seeking for animal products was higher for boys and increased with age for boys, but not for girls. For each food group, variety seeking at follow-up was related to food neophobia. This study suggests that the acquisition of food repertoire may be influenced by food exposure and food choice behaviours before the age of 4.

Adolescent↗

Perceptual interactions in odour mixtures: odour quality in binary mixtures of woody and fruity wine odorants.

The qualitative perceptual interactions in three binary mixtures of wine odorants were studied: isoamyl acetate (fruity note)/whisky lactone (woody note), ethyl butyrate (fruity note)/whisky lactone (woody note) and ethyl butyrate (fruity note)/guaiacol (woody note). For each binary mixture, the perceived quality and intensity of 24 stimuli (four supra-threshold concentration levels of each of the two compounds and their 16 possible combinations) were evaluated in five replications by a trained panel of 13 subjects. The application of the Olsson predictive model for odour intensity and quality perception gave quite a good estimation of the evolution of single component identification in the mixture when the intensity proportion of unmixed components varied. However, this model was unable to account for the odour quality dominance in mixtures of iso-intense components. An alternative linear logistic model was proposed to study the qualitative dominance of the woody note in the three mixtures when the perceived intensities of each unmixed compound were equal.

Butyrates↗

Food choices at lunch during the third year of life: high selection of animal and starchy foods but avoidance of vegetables.

AIM: The objective was to show patterns of food selection by 2- to 3-y-old children for a wide variety of foods in a self-service cafeteria and to assess the effect of individual variables (gender, BMI, mode of feeding after birth and rank in sibship). METHODS: In a nursery self-service canteen, food choices at lunch made by children (n=418, 24-36 mo; 109 observations per child on average) were recorded by trained assistants who monitored portion size. An offer of eight dishes (animal products, starchy foods, combination dishes, vegetables and dairy products), excluding dessert-type foods, was proposed. Choice level was calculated for each food. Analysis of variance was used to compare choices for the various foods and to assess the effect of the individual variables. RESULTS: The choice of a food largely depended upon its nature: animal products, starchy foods and their combinations were widely chosen, whereas vegetables were not often selected; the choice for dairy products depended upon the type. The mode of preparation of the food influenced its choice. Segmenting products were identified; however, except for cheeses, a given child did not refuse an entire food category. Children's characteristics did not explain the choice variability. CONCLUSION: At the age of 2 to 3 y, children preferentially choose animal products and starchy foods and avoid vegetables; the high individual variability of their food choices could be related to previous food experiences.

Cheese↗

Food choices at lunch during the third year of life: increase in energy intake but decrease in variety.

AIM: Modelling the evolution between the ages of 2 and 3 y of the energy intake and the variety of free food choices at lunch time in relation to children's and context variables. METHODS: One-year follow-up from 2 to 3 y old. In a nursery canteen, food choices at lunch were recorded by trained assistants who monitored portion size. Energy intake and food variety were estimated. Three hundred and ninety-five children were studied, for 112 meals and over 10 mo on average. Mixed models of analysis of variance were used to take into account the longitudinal character of the data. RESULTS: From 2 to 3 y, energy intake increased. Variety decreased during the first 7 mo and then remained constant. The individual variability in mean values and in evolution was high for both variables. Energy was positively linked to BMI at 2 y. Variety was slightly higher for girls and increased with duration of breastfeeding. Energy was higher in September to November than in December-January. Variety was maximal in December-January and in June-July. CONCLUSION: During the third year of life, while energy intake increases, the restriction of food variety appears to be a normal transition phase. Long duration of breastfeeding is associated with higher food variety.

Age Factors↗

Role of pulp in flavor release and sensory perception in orange juice.

This work elucidates the role of suspended solids in sensorial perception and flavor release in orange juice. The coarsest pulp (insoluble particles with a diameter of >2 microm) accounted for two major physicochemical effects in orange juice samples: it retained large amounts of aroma compounds, including terpenes and aldehydes, and modified the rheological properties of the juice matrix. These phenomena strongly affected the chemical composition of the vapor phase in the juice samples. On the other hand, orange juice cloud (finest insoluble particles with a diameter of <2 microm) also showed a strong retention effect on ethyl butanoate or hexanal, probably due to the occurrence of molecular interactions with cloud macromolecules. The amount and the size of the suspended solids critically modified not only the texture perception but also the odor and the overall flavor perception, including the "freshly squeezed" and the "artificial flavor" descriptors. The addition of a natural pulp to low-pulp juices increases the fresh orange juice character, a finding that is explained by both physicochemical (fresh pulp contains high amounts of key aroma compounds, including acetaldehyde and mono- and sesquiterpenes) and cognitive effects, mainly due to the tactile properties of the pulp.

Beverages↗

Representativeness of extracts of offset paper packaging and analysis of the main odor-active compounds.

Packagings often carry odors due to the support and printing inks. The aim of the investigation was to define a representative solvent-free extract of paper-based packaging materials printed by the offset process, for the identification of the odor-causing volatile compounds. Static headspace and solid-phase microextraction were the two applied extraction methods. Representativeness tests showed that the odor of the PDMS fiber extract gave satisfying odor similarities with the original packaging. The sample incubation was performed at 40 degrees C for 30 min, whereas the extraction time was 3 min at 40 degrees C. Extracts of both the nonprinted and printed papers of different batches were analyzed by gas chromatography-olfactometry. 4-Phenylcyclohexene was identified as the most potent compound contributing to the latex-like odor of the nonprinted paper. Among the 13 major odorants identified by mass spectrometry, 10 were aldehydes and ketones generated by oxidation of the printing ink resins. The ratio of odorants to interferences was too low for a possible detection of the key odorants by nonseparative techniques such as sensor arrays.

Aldehydes↗