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Development of Sweet Taste Perception: Implications for Artificial Sweetener Use
Endocrine Development
|September 6, 2017
Summary
Humans naturally like sweet tastes, but modern sweeteners lack nutrients. This review examines how early exposure to nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS) impacts taste preferences, weight, and chronic disease risk.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Metabolic Health
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Humans possess an innate preference for sweetness, historically linked to calorie and nutrient intake for survival.
- Modern diets frequently feature added sugars and nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS) that provide sweetness without essential nutrients.
- Increased consumption of NNS raises concerns about their long-term metabolic and health consequences, especially when exposure begins in early life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically review existing research on the effects of nonnutritive sweetener (NNS) exposure during early development.
- To investigate the impact of in utero, lactation, and childhood NNS exposure on taste preferences, weight gain, and chronic disease development.
- To explore potential mechanisms by which early sweetness exposure influences metabolic outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of scientific literature on nonnutritive sweetener (NNS) exposure and health outcomes.
- Analysis of data concerning taste preferences, weight trajectories, and chronic disease development in relation to early-life NNS exposure.
- Focus on identifying and evaluating potential biological mechanisms linking early sweetness perception to metabolic health.
Main Results:
- Data on the metabolic and health effects of NNS, particularly from early-life exposure, remain incompletely characterized.
- Early exposure to NNS may influence taste preferences, potentially altering the perception of sweetness and food choices.
- Potential links between early NNS exposure and altered weight trajectories and increased risk of chronic diseases warrant further investigation.
Conclusions:
- Understanding the long-term health implications of nonnutritive sweeteners (NNS) is crucial, especially concerning early-life exposure.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms by which NNS affect metabolic health and chronic disease risk from developmental stages onwards.
- Evidence suggests a need for cautious consideration of NNS use during pregnancy and childhood due to potential developmental impacts.