Preferences and intake measures of salt and sugar, and their relation to personality traits

The inter-relationship of personality with dietary intake of salt and sugar, and with hedonic responses to saltiness and sweetness, was examined among 62 female and 38 male university students. Thirty-five personality traits were assessed using five standard questionnaires: (1) Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF), (2) Jenkins Activity Survey (JAS), (3) Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ), (4) Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC), and (5) Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). Dietary intakes of salty and of sweet foods were estimated from dietary-frequency questionnaires. Hedonic responses to sodium chloride in beef broth and to sucrose in lemonade were measured by category scaling of like/dislike and by ad libitum addition to maximum preference. While subjects with a high salt intake liked saltier broths ( p