Relationship between Taste Sensitivity and Eating Style in Japanese Female University Students

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between taste sensitivity, the frequency and the preference for eating foods rich in zinc, dietary habits, and restrained eating among Japanese female undergraduate students. Forty-three subjects between the ages of 20 and 22 participated in this study. After a taste-sensitivity test for sweetness and saltiness the students completed a food list indicating the intake frequency and preference of foods rich in zinc and their eating habits. The students were divided into four groups: high salt-taste sensitivity (SA-HG), low salt-taste sensitivity (SA-LG), high sweet-taste sensitivity (SW-HG), and low sweet-taste sensitivity (SW-LG). Individuals in the SA-HG group ate more foods rich in zinc and were more concerned with their health than those in the SA-LG group. Further, the SW-LG group ate more convenience foods than the SW-HG group. High salt-taste sensitivity could be predicted by eating more but less preference of foods rich in zinc, less snacking, and greater regularity of meals. On the other hand there is a significant positive relationship between the frequencies of eating and preference for foods rich in zinc. This means the results were inconsistent, further research is needed to clarify this point.

Sensory sensitivity to sour and bitter taste among people with Crohn's disease and folic acid supplementation

“…However, it is noteworthy that there were a high percentage of people with low sensitivity to sweet and salty tastes in both groups. Other researchers also observed that both healthy people and Crohn's disease patients exhibited low sensitivity to salty and sweet tastes (Bertoli et al, ; Kato & Roth, ; Martin & Bellisle, ), which could be partly explained by their dietary habits (Jayasinghe et al, ; Santos et al, ). Santos et al () found that only 18.0% of Brazilian adolescents preferring sweet taste were able to correctly identify it at refined sugar concentrations of 2.0 and 4.0%, as well as the salty taste of table salt at concentrations of 0.2 and 0.4%.…”

“…Further research is necessary to investigate the influence of folic acid intake on increased sensory sensitivity to sour taste and reduced sensitivity to bitter taste. Earlier studies on healthy people showed a relationship between taste sensitivity and the intake of some micronutrients, for example, the intake of food with high zinc content (Kato & Roth, ; Stewart‐Knox et al, ). Women's higher dietary intake of zinc was associated with their better sensitivity to salty taste (McDaid, Stewart‐Knox, Parr, & Simpson, ).…”

“…Studies have shown that many young people experience low taste sensitivity (Boyce & Shone, ; Martin & Bellisle, ; Pavlos et al, ). In recent decades, the incidence of taste disorders has increased among young women and now it is a serious problem (Kato & Roth, ). The increased consumption of sweet products by obese children is caused by their high preferences and low sensory sensitivity to sweetness (Laffitte, Neiers, & Briand, ; Sobek & Mazur, ).…”

“…The receptors of sweet, bitter, and umami tastes have been identified in different organs (gastrointestinal tract, heart, brain, bladder, nasal respiratory epithelium, and kidney) and in some specific cells, such as B lymphocytes, but further research is necessary to investigate their influence (Ekstrand, Young, & Rasmussen, ; Laffitte et al, ). Many studies have shown that medical conditions affect the sense of taste, for example, endocrine, neurological, and nutritional factors (deficiency of niacin and vitamin B12), and viral infections (Boyce & Shone, ; Cermak, Curtin, & Bandini, ; Kato & Roth, ; Santos, Santos Marreiros, Soares de Oliveira, Torres de Freitas, & Clímaco Cruz, ; Schiffman & Graham, ). The inflammatory process in Crohn's disease is usually located in the distal part of the small intestine but it may also affect the function of the oral cavity (Padmavathi, Sharma, Astekar, Rajan, & Sowmya, ; Rowland, Fleming, & Bourke, ; Steinbach et al, ; Swora, Ślebioda, Grzymisławski, & Szponar, ).…”

Correlation between Taste Threshold Sensitivity and MMP-9, Salivary Secretion, Blood Pressure, and Blood Glucose Levels in Smoking and Nonsmoking Women

“…Several studies suggested that the ability to perceive sweet taste influences the blood glucose levels by altering the amount of sugar consumed and dietary and snacking habits. Individuals with lower sensitivity to sweet taste tend to have greater dietary and sugar intake and thus can be at risk of long-term health outcomes, such as obesity, because they need to consume more sugar to have the same taste sensation than those who are more sensitive [11,12]. Furthermore, previous studies found that there was a significant increase of the mean sweet International Journal of Dentistry taste threshold in the diabetic group compared to the normoglycemic group [13,14].…”