Fat discrimination: A phenotype with potential implications for studying fat intake behaviors and obesity

Abstract

Variations in fat preference and intake across humans are poorly understood in part because of difficulties in studying this behavior. The objective of this study was to develop a simple procedure to assess fat discrimination, the ability to accurately perceive differences in the fat content of foods, and assess the associations between this phenotype and fat ingestive behaviors and adiposity. African-American adults (n=317) were tested for fat discrimination using 7 forced choice same/different tests with Italian salad dressings that ranged in fat-by-weight content from 5–55%. Performance on this procedure was determined by tallying the number of trials in which a participant correctly identified the pair of samples as “same” or “different” across all test pairs (ranging from 1–7). Individuals who received the lowest scores on this task (≤3 out of 7 correct) were classified as fat non-discriminators (n=33) and those who received the highest scores (7 out of 7 correct) were classified as fat discriminators (n=59). These 2 groups were compared for the primary outcome variables: reported food intake, preferences, and adiposity. After adjusting for BMI, sex, age, and dietary restraint and disinhibition, fat non-discriminators reported greater consumption of both added fats and reduced fat foods (p<0.05 for both). Fat non-discriminators also had greater abdominal adiposity compared to fat discriminators (p<0.05). Test-retest scores performed in a subset of participants (n=40) showed moderate reliability of the fat discrimination test (rho=0.53;p<0.01). If these results are replicated, fat discrimination may serve as clinical research tool to identify participants who are at risk for obesity and other chronic diseases due to increased fat intake.

A review of the associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms in taste receptors, eating behaviors, and health

“…The relationship between sensory fat perception and predisposition to weight gain has been shown in recent adult human studies (Liang et al, 2012;Stewart et al, 2010;Stewart et al, 2011). This relationship outlines the remarkable difference in obese and lean subjects with respect to fat intake and taste sensitivity.…”

“…Similarly, a high-fat diet decreased the taste sensitivity to oleic acid in lean, but not obese patients (Stewart & Keast, 2012). These observations suggest that a lack of sensitivity to fat taste increases fat intake, and may partly explain why obese adult individuals seem to consume fatty foods more frequently than lean patients (Liang et al, 2012;Stewart et al, 2011).…”

“…The consumption of energy-dense foods may be linked to enhanced palatability of dietary fats which predispose individuals to metabolic complications (Liang et al, 2012;Stewart, FeinleBisset, & Keast, 2011). The relationship between sensory fat perception and predisposition to weight gain has been shown in recent adult human studies (Liang et al, 2012;Stewart et al, 2010;Stewart et al, 2011).…”

Variation in the Ability to Taste Bitter Thiourea Compounds: Implications for Food Acceptance, Dietary Intake, and Obesity Risk in Children

“…The fungiform papillae hold active taste cells and are densely innervated by trigeminal (somatosensory) nerves that function to relay information to the brain about textural sensations of food, including the oiliness, creaminess, and mouth-feel (92). Regardless of PROP status, other studies have reported that reduced ability to perceive dietary fat is associated with increased acceptance and intake of higher-fat foods (83,125,126). We have speculated that nontasters might compensate for reduced fat perception by consuming higher-fat foods in the diet that provide additional oral stimulation and sensory input (74).…”

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

“…This cluster contained more men, more consumers with a higher BMI, and more consumers with a high frequency of butter usage. Previous research has indicated that fat nondiscriminators may have greater abdominal adiposity compared with fat discriminators (Liang et al, 2012). The smallest cluster (12%) rated all butter and spread samples lower than the other clusters; this cluster had very few frequent butter consumers.…”