Table 1.

Children’s salt taste detection and recognition threshold.

Population N, Age Range, Country	Type of Threshold (Design)	Solution Range %NaCl in Water	Threshold	Remarks		Reference
N = 251, 10–12 years, Japan	Detection (filter paper, paired comparison)	0.6–1.6	0.6%	0.6%NaCl was lowest concentration presented.	Thresholds not related to liking or salt intake	Matsuzuki et al., 2008 [67]
N = 24 10–19 years , UK	Detection (staircase, one in 4)	0.004–0.58	0.04%	Mean based on interpretation of figure	Threshold 10–19 years old is higher than 20–29 years old	Baker et al., 1983 [70]
N = 70, 12–13 years, Korea	Detection (triangle test)	0.005–0.15	0.03%		Higher thresholds for those liking soup/stew	Kim and Lee, 2009 [66]
N = 97, 8–14 years, USA	Detection (staircase, paired comparison)	0.0003–5.8	0.021%	52% overweight children	Threshold not related to salt intake	Bobowski & Mennella, 2015 [68]
N = 68, 8–9 years, Australia	Detection (paired comparison)	0.0009–0.029	0.016–0.036%	Boys were less sensitive than adults	Boys had higher threshold than women	James, Laing, & Oram, 1997, [65]
N = 72, Age unknown, Spain	Detection (staircase paired comparison)	0.0012–0.08	0.027%			Arguelles et al., 2006 [69]
N = 22, 9–19 years, USA	Detection (staircase 4 in 8)	0.00006–5.8	0.006%	Clinical population		Hertz et al., 1975 [71]
N = 421, 14–19 years, Brazil	Recognition	0.02–5.8	0.17%		Threshold not related to body composition	Kirsten & Wagner, 2014, [74]
N = 237, 6–15 years, Japan	Recognition (one solution)	-	0.4%	0.4% was the only solution presented	Sensitivity lowest in 4–6 graders	Ohnuki et al., 2014 [77]
N = 40, 5–12 years, Italy	Recognition (two solutions)	0.18, 1.8	1.8%	Only two solutions tested		Majorana et al., 2012 [76]
N = 319, 9–17 years, Nigeria	Recognition threshold (range)	0.18–1	0.18%		Higher threshold in boys than girls	Okoro et al., 1998 [75]