Temporal sweet taste dominance according to adult body mass index classification

Abstract

Excess adipose tissue is associated with basic tastes perception change, which can negatively affect food choices. However, the effect of overweight and obesity on sensory perception is not clearly explained in the literature yielding heterogeneous results. The present investigation aimed to investigate the temporal dominance of sweet taste according to body mass index (BMI) classification in adults during the ingestion of five passion fruit nectar samples prepared with different sucrose concentrations. The temporal dominance of sensations methodology was applied, which allowed the representation of the stimuli assessed in dominance curves, considering a significant difference in Fisher's exact test (p ≤ 0.05). The attributes evaluated were sweet taste, bitter taste, acidic taste, astringency, passion fruit flavor, metallic taste, or none of the previous options. The sensory analysis was performed with the participation of ninety adult consumers, divided into three groups: EG = eutrophic, WG = overweight, and OG = obesity group, according to the BMI classification. Between the groups a difference in the perception of the attribute "sweet taste" was observed: The EG demonstrated perception of the stimulus in food samples at lower sucrose concentrations, whereas WG and OG showed a higher rate of sweet taste dominance in the food samples with higher concentration of sucrose. Overweight and obese individuals have a lower sensory perception of sweet taste and require a greater amount of sucrose to producing sensory dominance of the attribute "sweet taste" when compared to eutrophic individuals. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Overweight and obese individuals may experience taste perception in foods in a different way. This study investigated the dominance of sweet taste perception in a fruit beverage by adults with adequate weight and overweight. The results of the tests support the hypothesis that obese and nonobese individuals differ in the sweet taste perception, which can help to understand which factors are involved in sensory perception and food consumption, in addition to providing subsidies for the nonalcoholic beverage industry to elaborate products with new alternatives for concentration and/or replacement of sucrose.

Keywords: consumer insight; nutrition; sweeteners; tropical fruits.