Table 1.

Summary of representative pediatric research on sweet taste, from preterm infants to children, illustrating the diversity of methods and variety of outcomes^*

Age Group	Methodology and Outcomes	References
Preterm Infants	Increased strength and frequency of sucking of sucrose-sweetened nipple compared with unsweetened nipple	Maone et al., 1990 [48]
	Increased strength and frequency of sucking when tasting glucose-sweetened drops of solution compared with water.	Tatzer et al., 1985 [49]
	Attenuated pain response (as evidenced by decreases in crying duration) during venipuncture procedure when tasting a sweet (sucrose or glucose) solution compared with water	Abad et al., 1996 [62]; Deshmukh and Udani, 2002 [63]
	Decreased spontaneous crying relative to baseline when tasting sweet (sucrose or glucose) solution compared with water	Smith and Blass, 1996 [50]
Infants	Increased strength and frequency of sucking of a sucrose-sweetened compared with unsweetened nipple	Maone et al., 1990 [48]
	Attenuated pain response (as evidenced by decreases in crying incidence and duration) during and after painful procedures (e.g., immunization, heel lance, circumcision) when tasting a sweet (sucrose or glucose) solution compared with water	Harrison et al., [64]; Blass and Hoffmeyer, 1991 [60]
	Decreased spontaneous crying relative to baseline when tasting a sweet (sucrose or glucose) solution compared with water	Smith and Blass, 1996 [50]
	Increased sucking burst length and decreased sucking latency with a sucrose-sweetened compared with unsweetened nipple	Crook, 1978 [56]; Crook and Lipsitt, 1976 [57]
	Increased sucking-like and mouthing responses, facial relaxation, smiling, and hand-mouth contact when tasting sweet (sucrose) solution compared with water	Rosenstein and Oster, 1988 [55]; Steiner et al, 2001 [53]
	Decreased crying and increased hand-mouth contact when tasting sweet (sucrose) solution compared with water	Barr et al., 1999 [59]
	Decreased crying and increased hand-mouth contact when tasting sweet (aspartame) solution compared with water	Barr et al., 1999 [59]
	Increased intake of sweet solutions (sucrose, glucose, fructose, lactose) compared with water	Beauchamp and Moran, 1982 [108]; Desor et al., 1973 [52]
Children	Increased pain threshold during cold pressor test when tasting sweet (sucrose) solution compared with water	Miller et al, 1994 [67]; Pepino and Mennella, 2005 [69]; Mennella et al., 2010 [68]
	No effect on pain induced by needle-related procedures when tasting something sweet compared with water	Harrison et al., 2015 [70]
	Concentration of sucrose most preferred higher among children than among adults, with the changeover to adult pattern occurring during mid-late adolescence	de Graaf and Zandstra, 1999 [82]; Mennella et al., 2005 [80]; Mennella et al., 2011 [79]; Mennella et al., 2014 [35]; Desor and Beauchamp, 1987 [78]; Desor et al., 1975 [83]
	Concentration of sucrose most preferred higher during periods of growth	Coldwell et al., 2009 [90]; Mennella et al., 2014 [35]
	Children learn through repeated exposure the most appropriate level of sweetness for a particular food	Beauchamp and Moran, 1984 [94]; Sullivan and Birch, 1990 [102]; Liem and de Graaf, 2004 [107]
	Increased consumption of a sweetened version of a food or beverage (e.g., spaghetti, Kool-Aid, vegetables) compared with unsweetened counterpart	Filer, 1978 [95]; Beauchamp and Moran, 1984 [94]; Sharafi et al., 2013[97]
	Sucrose masked the bitterness and increased liking of a range of bitter-tasting stimuli (urea, caffeine, denatonium benzoate, propylthiouracil, and quinine)	Mennella et al., 2015 [96]
	Sucrose detection thresholds decreased with age and central obesity (the older the child or the more central obesity, the more sensitive the child was to sweet taste)	Joseph et al., 2016 [87]

^*This review is not meant to be representative of all research conducted to date; rather, it highlights the breadth of methodologies employed and the convergence of findings.