Can Not Tasting Fat Make You Fat?
Monday, June 9, 2014
As you are probably well aware, we have five well-documented senses of taste: salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami.
But, as you may also be aware, there is mounting evidence for a sixth sense – the taste of fat. It turns out that we have distinct chemoreceptors in our mouths that can detect the taste of fatty acids – or in other words – fat.
An interesting study by Russell Keast and colleagues from Deakin University in Australia, published in Appetite, shows that people, who lack the ability to taste fat will consume more fatty foods in an ad libitum diet.
Subjects in this study (n=24) were first tested for their ability to taste fat and then participated in a blinded crossover study where they are offered four different breakfasts (high fat, high protein, high carbohydrate) and a balanced macronutrient breakfast on four separate days.
Following breakfast, subjects consumed a buffet-style lunch until comfortably full.
It turned out that, following the high-fat breakfast, subjects with impaired ability to taste fat (n = 10) consumed about 500 extra calories (and about 250 extra grams of food) at lunch compared to other subjects.
In contrast – there was no significant difference in lunch intake after the other breakfasts.
From these findings the authors conclude that,
“Impaired oral fatty acid chemoreception was associated with excess energy consumption following a high fat meal.”
If these findings hold true in the general population, then we have a very plausible explanation how the low-fat craze of past years may have played a substantial role in the rise in obesity.
This low-fat obsession has previously been linked to obesity rates, but the general explanation was that this may be due to replacing fat with sugar in low-fat products.
While this may indeed play a role, the present study suggests that not eating enough fat (at least in people with an impaired ability to taste fat) may well lead to overeating – perhaps due to lack of the satiating effect of fat in these individuals.
Although it is always difficult to predict long-term changes in energy balance from such short-term studies, the implications would be interesting – I wonder if we will soon be advising our patients to avoid low-fat products as a means of eating fewer calories.
@DrSharma
Edmonton, Alberta
Keast RS, Azzopardi KM, Newman LP, & Haryono RY (2014). Impaired oral fatty acid chemoreception is associated with acute excess energy consumption. Appetite, 80C, 1-6 PMID: 24787499
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Monday, June 9, 2014
I’m confused – the study seemed to show that only after eating *high fat* meals did those who couldn’t taste fat overeat, yet you seem to be trying to draw a conclusion that eating *low fat* meals would cause people to overeat. What am I missing?
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
I have the same confusion as Pam. If they only ate more after the high fat breakfast then eating less fat is the better option. Also, how many people in the population have an impaired ability to taste fat?
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
I agree with Pat. It seems to me that perhaps those in the study who could taste fat ate less in subsequent meals, while those who did not taste fat ate the same or more, resulting in them eating 500 more calories than others… wouldn’t that mean that it is better for those who can’t taste fat to stick to a low-fat diet?
Sunday, June 15, 2014
I so agree. The conclusions drawn are counter-logical. I would also like to know basically about how the fat tasters and non-tasters were identified. How do you separate these individuals from people who like fat and people who don’t particularly like fat? Or people who are easily satiated by fat and those who are not? This all seems so questionable.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
If the study had selected people who followed low-fat diets then it would be more logical to reach the conclusion regarding cause and effect but there was no indication of that this was the case. I don’t understand the link between low-fat diets and the study results. It seems to be a very small sample size as well.