Diet, not genes, may determine one’s sensitivity to fat
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that a taste for fat is determined by what you eat and not by your genetics.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that a taste for fat is determined by what you eat and not by your genetics. The research found that a high-fat diet decreased a person’s sensitivity to the “taste” of fat, irrespective of their body weight or genetics.
“There’s this idea that maybe some people are just not as good at sensing high levels of fat, and that they’re born that way,” said lead researcher professor Russell Keast, Director of Deakin’s Centre for Advanced Sensory Science. “But what we found is that genetics does not provide any protection against the dietary influence of fat. If we eat a high-fat diet, we lose our ability to sense fat.”
The study conducted an eight-week dietary intervention with 44 sets of twin adults, recruited from Twins Research Australia. Twins within each pair were randomly allocated to a low-fat diet (getting less than 20% of their energy from fat) or high-fat diet (getting more than 35% of their energy from fat). Those on the high-fat diet were encouraged to eat more dairy, meat, and oil. But each consumed the same number of overall kilojoules and were monitored to keep within their normal weight range. Their taste for fat was tested at the start, middle, and end of the trial.
At each test, each twin was given three small unmarked cups of liquid, and had to identify which of the cups contained a fatty acid. If they were unable to do so, the concentration of fatty acid was increased. At four and eight weeks, the twins on the low-fat diets were able to identify the fatty acid at lower concentrations than their twin on a high-fat diet. Keast said this was significant because of the strong link between taste sensitivity and satiety.
“People who have a lower sensitivity to the fat taste end up eating far more kilojoules from fat because they need more to feel satiated,” said Keast. “That’s why it’s vitally important we’re careful with what we’re eating, otherwise we will get in a bad cycle of our bodies becoming accustomed to high levels of fat and requiring higher levels of fat to become satisfied. That can then lead to obesity.”
Study
“There’s this idea that maybe some people are just not as good at sensing high levels of fat, and that they’re born that way,” said lead researcher professor Russell Keast, Director of Deakin’s Centre for Advanced Sensory Science. “But what we found is that genetics does not provide any protection against the dietary influence of fat. If we eat a high-fat diet, we lose our ability to sense fat.”
The study conducted an eight-week dietary intervention with 44 sets of twin adults, recruited from Twins Research Australia. Twins within each pair were randomly allocated to a low-fat diet (getting less than 20% of their energy from fat) or high-fat diet (getting more than 35% of their energy from fat). Those on the high-fat diet were encouraged to eat more dairy, meat, and oil. But each consumed the same number of overall kilojoules and were monitored to keep within their normal weight range. Their taste for fat was tested at the start, middle, and end of the trial.
At each test, each twin was given three small unmarked cups of liquid, and had to identify which of the cups contained a fatty acid. If they were unable to do so, the concentration of fatty acid was increased. At four and eight weeks, the twins on the low-fat diets were able to identify the fatty acid at lower concentrations than their twin on a high-fat diet. Keast said this was significant because of the strong link between taste sensitivity and satiety.
“People who have a lower sensitivity to the fat taste end up eating far more kilojoules from fat because they need more to feel satiated,” said Keast. “That’s why it’s vitally important we’re careful with what we’re eating, otherwise we will get in a bad cycle of our bodies becoming accustomed to high levels of fat and requiring higher levels of fat to become satisfied. That can then lead to obesity.”
Study
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