Relationship between Oral Condition and Preference for Cooked Rice in Elderly and Young People

Abstract

To determine preferred texture of cooked rice, sensory analysis and measurements were conducted using 116 elderly and 81 young individuals. Six types of cooked rice with a significant difference in texture were prepared by cooking rice with a weight of water 1.1 - 2.6 times the weight of rice. Seven factors of oral condition, including the number of remaining teeth, occlusal supporting area and occlusal force in dental prescale, were examined. Significant differences in oral condition were observed between the elderly and young individuals. Furthermore, the elderly individuals preferred the texture of rice cooked with 1.9 times the weight of water, while the young preferred the texture of rice cooked with 1.5 times the weight of water. Using these data, the panelists were divided into five groups using a neural network method. The measurements within these stratified groups revealed that oral condition was not necessarily correlated with the preference for cooked rice, which is likely the result of the particular preference among Japanese people for the texture of flavorful cooked rice.