Can You Taste Fat? A Study on the Impact of Fat Perception on Dietary Behaviors and Adiposity
Abstract
Individuals with a higher sensitivity to the perception of fat in foods may benefit from this ability by making healthier food choices. To investigate the impact of fat perception on eating habits and health, we examined participants’ daily food intake, adiposity, and ability to distinguish between full-fat and low-fat products. Participants completed a 7-day food diary to measure dietary the amounts of daily fat, sugar, sodium, carbohydrates, protein and caloric intake. Height, weight, and hip circumference measurements were used to calculate body mass index (BMI) and body adiposity index (BAI) values. The participants’ perception of fat was measured using a taste test in which they were given two samples of salad dressing, full-fat and low-fat, and were asked to identify the full-fat version. The average fat consumed daily by the participants, according to their self-reported food diary, was compared to their ability to distinguish the difference in total fat in the two samples of salad dressing and their BMI and BAI values. We found that participants with a greater intake of fat were less likely to detect the full-fat salad dressing. This may be because a diet rich in fatty foods increases one’s fat taste perception threshold, so they therefore consume more fat dense foods than someone with a lower threshold. Future research will focus on methods that teach individuals to detect levels of fat in foods in order to encourage healthier dietary habits.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Leanne Boucher, Dr. Jaime Tartar
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Shermany Library
Start Date
4-5-2019 1:00 PM
End Date
4-5-2019 5:00 PM
Can You Taste Fat? A Study on the Impact of Fat Perception on Dietary Behaviors and Adiposity
Alvin Shermany Library
Individuals with a higher sensitivity to the perception of fat in foods may benefit from this ability by making healthier food choices. To investigate the impact of fat perception on eating habits and health, we examined participants’ daily food intake, adiposity, and ability to distinguish between full-fat and low-fat products. Participants completed a 7-day food diary to measure dietary the amounts of daily fat, sugar, sodium, carbohydrates, protein and caloric intake. Height, weight, and hip circumference measurements were used to calculate body mass index (BMI) and body adiposity index (BAI) values. The participants’ perception of fat was measured using a taste test in which they were given two samples of salad dressing, full-fat and low-fat, and were asked to identify the full-fat version. The average fat consumed daily by the participants, according to their self-reported food diary, was compared to their ability to distinguish the difference in total fat in the two samples of salad dressing and their BMI and BAI values. We found that participants with a greater intake of fat were less likely to detect the full-fat salad dressing. This may be because a diet rich in fatty foods increases one’s fat taste perception threshold, so they therefore consume more fat dense foods than someone with a lower threshold. Future research will focus on methods that teach individuals to detect levels of fat in foods in order to encourage healthier dietary habits.
