Sweet Tooth: Nature or Nurture? Assessing the role of dietary sweetness exposure on sweet taste liking

Summary

People often assume that preferences for sweetness change based on how much sweetness someone is exposed to in their diet. This PhD research explored whether eating more or less sweet-tasting foods over a longer period affects how much people like sweet tastes, how much they eat, and whether it influences their body weight. A six-month study was conducted where 180 participants followed diets with low, medium, or high levels of sweet foods. The research also included developing new methods to accurately measure people’s sweetness preferences and examined whether there is a link between liking sweet taste and sweet food intake. This work is important because it helps us better understand how taste preferences relate to eating behavior and may challenge common beliefs about sweet foods and health.