Obesity changes taste?

Obesity can affect how to enjoy food at the most basic level: changing the way our tongue responds to different foods.

In a study in the journal PLOS ONE on November 13, University of Buffalo biologists reported that obesity undermines rats' ability to detect sweets .

Compared to thinner mice, fat rats have fewer taste cells that react to sweeter stimuli. Moreover, these cells reacted to the relatively sweet sweets.

The research results have stripped off a layer of mystery about how obesity changes our relationship with food.

'Studies show that obesity can lead to changes in the brain as well as in the nerves that control peripheral taste systems, but scientists have never observed in cells on the tongue. create food contact, ' said lead researcher Kathryn Medler, Ph.D., associate professor of biology.

Images of cells under a microscope

What we see is even at this level - in the first step in the sense of taste - the taste cells themselves are affected by obesity, Medler said: "Obese mice have cells. taste buds are less responsive to sweet taste stimuli, and these cells do not respond well ".

This study is very significant because taste plays an important role in regulating appetite : what we eat and how much we consume.

Over-the-counter studies show that obese people crave sweet and salty foods, although obese people may not like these tastes more like lean ones.

Medler said it was possible that the problem of discovering sweetness made obese mice eat more than skinny mice to get the same benefits.

Learning more about the relationship between taste, appetite and obesity is important, Medler said, because it can lead to new ways to encourage healthy eating.

"If we understand how taste cells are affected and how we can get these cells back to normal, that could bring new treatments," Medler said. "These cells are on your tongue and are more accessible to cells in other parts of your body, like your brain."

The study in the new PLoS ONE compared 25 normal mice with 25 tiny mice, mice that were treated with a high-fat diet and became obese.

To assess the reaction of animals with different flavors, the team observed a process called calcium signaling . When cells 'recognize' a certain position, there is a temporary increase in calcium levels inside the cells, and scientists measured this change.

As a result, obese rats' cells taste weakly with not only the sweetness but also the bitterness. Taste cells of both groups of mice have similar reactions with umami taste, a flavor associated with delicious foods and meat.

Co-authors studied with Medler are UB alumni Amanda Maliphol and UB Deborah Garth alumni.