Dietary fat restriction increases fat taste sensitivity in people with obesity

Abstract

ObjectiveIndividuals with obesity may be less sensitive to the taste of fat, and it is hypothesized that this is due to excess dietary fat intake. This study assessed the effect of a 6‐week low‐fat (LF) or portion control (PC) diet matched for weight loss on fat taste thresholds, fat perception, and preference in people with overweight/obesity.MethodsParticipants (n = 53) completed a randomized dietary intervention and consumed either a LF diet (25% fat) or PC diet (33% fat) for 6 weeks. Fat taste thresholds (lowest detectable fat concentration), fat perception (discrimination ability), preference, and anthropometry were assessed at baseline and week 6.ResultsConsumption of a LF diet (n = 26) and PC diet (n = 27) reduced participants' weight (P < 0.001), with no significant differences between groups (LF, −2.9%, PC, −2.7%). Both diets resulted in a decrease in fat taste thresholds (P = 0.014), and the effect tended to be stronger in the LF diet vs. the PC diet (P = 0.060). The ability to perceive different fat concentrations in foods was increased after the LF diet only (P = 0.017); however, food preference did not change on either diet.ConclusionsA PC and LF diet both increase fat taste sensitivity in people with overweight/obesity, with the strongest effect after the LF diet.

The Associations Between Oral Complex Carbohydrate Sensitivity, BMI, Liking, and Consumption of Complex Carbohydrate Based Foods

“…It is widely believed that the human taste system consists of five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami, and much recent evidence supports a sixth taste responsive for fatty acids (Chalé‐Rush, Burgess, & Mattes, ; Mattes, , ; Newman, Haryono, & Keast, ; Newman, Bolhuis, Torres, & Keast, ; Newman & Keast, ; Running, Craig, & Mattes, ; Stewart & Keast, ; Stewart et al., ; Stewart, Feinle‐Bisset, & Keast, ; Tucker, Edlinger, Craig, & Mattes, ). More recent psychophysical studies suggest that humans may perceive complex carbohydrates, independent of sweet taste (Lapis, Penner, Balto, & Lim, ; Lapis, Penner, & Lim, , ; Low, Lacy, McBride, & Keast, ).…”

Consumer acceptance of dairy products with a saturated fatty acid–reduced, monounsaturated fatty acid–enriched content

“…However, such inferences would need to be confirmed in an adequately powered trial. Interestingly, exposure to low-fat diets (4-6 wk) has been shown to significantly increase fat taste sensitivity among lean and overweight or obese individuals and increase liking or preference for some low-fat foods (Stewart and Keast, 2012;Newman et al, 2016). Further research is warranted to investigate whether repeated exposure could increase consumer acceptance of FA-modified foods, such as dairy products.…”

A Review of the Evidence Supporting the Taste of Non‐esterified Fatty Acids in Humans

“…Consumption of a low fat diet was associated with lower thresholds for lean and obese participants. An additional trial reported that dietary energy restriction for 6 weeks in obese adults led to lower fat detection thresholds, but this did not differ with dietary fat composition [66].…”

“…However, the authors note that individuals with obesity were present in all categories of taste responsiveness (i.e., 8, 3, 3, 2 individuals in the low to high performance quartiles). Six weeks of energy restriction in individuals who were overweight or obese led to improved fat ranking accuracy relative to baseline when the diet was lower in fat, but not when energy restriction only entailed reduced portion sizes [66]. However, no comparison between the two diet groups was reported precluding assessment of a BMI effect.…”