Within the IDEFICS study, the ttz Bremerhaven develops procedures to assess individual differences in taste sensitivity and taste preferences as well as their alterations in children aged from 2 years on. These procedures are adapted to the special needs of working with young children considering their weak cognitive skills pertinent to sensory testing.

In general, taste perception is genetically determined. By means of the novel developed procedures it should be revealed if obese children show a genetically determined different taste perception compared to normal weight children. If the study results confirm this assumption it would be possible to apply the developed procedures within early diagnostics.

Furthermore, the ttz Bremerhaven develops food samples for the standardized assessment of alterations in children’s taste preferences. All developed test procedures will be applied in eight European countries and the results will be linked to further parameters in order to reveal the epidemiologic obesity.