Can Weight Affect Your Ability to Taste Fat?

By , SparkPeople Blogger
Have you ever noticed whether or not you can easily taste the fat in foods? New research is exploring the relationship between your taste buds and your waistline. The surprising results could add a sixth taste to the current five: salty, bitter, sweet, sour and umami--the ability to taste fat. It could also shed some light on the differences between overweight and normal weight individuals.

Austrailian researchers gave 50 people a liquid and then measured their ability to detect fat using only their taste buds. The results were published in the British Journal of Nutrition. The study found a link between BMI and sensitivity to fat. The higher the BMI, the less likely the participant was to taste fat. Thinner participants also consumed less of the product when the fat concentrations were high. Researchers concluded that overweight and obese people may be desensitized to the taste of fat.

According to lead researcher Dr. Russell Keast, “With fats being easily accessible and commonly consumed in diets today, this suggests that our taste system may become desensitised to the taste of fat over time, leaving some people more susceptible to overeating fatty foods."

I've noticed that my taste preferences have changed over the years as my diet became healthier. In my college years, French fries and donuts were a standard part of my diet. But when I eat those kinds of things these days, either they don't taste as good as I remember, or I can't eat as much of them because it makes me sick. I think my taste buds have definitely gotten used to healthy foods (although they still love a good piece of chocolate cake now and then) and crave that good stuff.

What do you think? If you've recently changed your diet, have your taste preferences changed? What do you think about the results of this small study?