Abstract
This research was performed for a wide range of generations, from schoolchildren to aged people, in order to reveal the relationship between olfactory sensitivity and age or food preference. Two hundred eighty persons (aged 6-76 year-old) were randomly recruited as panelists from the visitors to the Event of the Scent held at Health Sciences Museum in Hiroshima in 2000. The panelists were presented 6 types of odor which remind of genuine materials (rose, lemon, cheese, matsutake, cinnamon, and grape) and given some questions about them including odor intensity, preference and discrimination of the genuine materials. The panelists were also asked their preference of food. As a result, significant correlation was found between odor sensitivity and age or preference. The discrimination ability to the genuine materials grew along with the increase of age except a group of more than 60 year-old, although it depended on the types of odors. For food preference, low discrimination ability was observed in a group of panelists who liked confectioneries and most of them belonged to a group of 13-18 year old. It was also shown that the panelists who did not like vegetables had low discrimination ability.
