Does being more sensitive to taste change what flavours we prefer?
This study examined whether people’s ability to detect and perceive the intensity of different tastes was related to their taste preferences in healthy young adults.
What We Did and Why We Did It
We recruited 49 healthy adults from the University of Guelph. Participants completed a series of taste tests measuring their ability to detect (detection threshold), rate the intensity of (suprathreshold sensitivity), and prefer different concentrations of sweet, salty, sour, umami, and fat tastes using filter paper taste strips. Researchers then used correlation analyses and principal component analysis to examine how these different measures of taste perception were related to one another.
Taste plays an important role in food selection, but it is not well understood how taste sensitivity relates to taste preferences. Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings, often focusing on only one type of taste or using different testing methods. Understanding these relationships could improve our knowledge of why people prefer certain foods and how taste influences eating behaviours.
What We Found
What We Can Learn From This
People who were more sensitive to salt, sweet, and umami tastes generally preferred lower concentrations of those tastes. Taste detection and taste intensity were strongly related across most taste types, but no meaningful relationships were found between taste sensitivity and preference for sour or fat tastes. Researchers also found that taste sensitivity, taste intensity, and taste preference represented distinct but related aspects of taste perception. However, measured taste preferences were not associated with participants’ self-reported food preferences.
Taste sensitivity influences taste preferences for some flavours, but not all. Measuring both taste sensitivity and taste preference provides a more complete understanding of the factors that may influence food selection. This information may help researchers better understand eating behaviours and develop future nutrition research.
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