Ms Chantelle Emery1, Ms Maya Young2, Dr Maria Chan1,2, A/Prof. Kelly Lambert1
1University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia, 2St George Hospital, Kogarah, Australia
Biography:
Kelly Lambert is a Dietitian and Associate Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Her research interests and values are supporting people with kidney disease to live better lives
Aim:
To describe food preferences of people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) without kidney replacement therapy; identify problematic foods in each taste category; explore differences in taste preferences according to gender and CKD stage.
Background:
CKD can cause taste disturbances and changes in appetite, leading to food aversions and changes to food intake. There is no contemporary data describing the food preferences of people with CKD despite the increasing prevalence with the condition.
Methods:
Outpatients recruited from metropolitan outpatient CKD clinics completed an adapted Food Preference Questionnaire. Adaptions included the addition of contemporary foods and the removal of infrequently consumed foods. Exclusion criteria were patients with conditions affecting taste e.g. cancer. Food items (n=200) were scored 1-9 (9= most preferred) using a hedonic scale. Chi-square and independent sample t-tests were used to determine differences between gender and stage of CKD. A p value of p<0.05 was significant. All results were analysed using Jamovi (v2.2.5).
Results:
A total of 76 patients were recruited (median eGFR 29ml.min (IQR: 15-47) . The most preferred food categories were sweet foods (6.55 ± 2.20) followed by neutral (6.06 ± 2.08) , bitter, salty, savoury/umami, and sour foods (4.64 ± 2.82). The highest ranking (most preferred) foods were mango, watermelon, fruit salad, baked potato and mandarins. Least preferred foods included kangaroo, textured vegetable protein, plant-based beef, rice milk and plant-based chicken and were more commonly from the savoury/umami category. There was no significant difference between hedonic scores according to gender (p=0.64).
Conclusion:
Food preferences of people with CKD are strongly influenced by familiarity, with sweet and neutral foods being most preferred. This information can be used when designing dietary interventions.
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