Effect of Physical Exercise on Taste Perceptions: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Exercise physiology
• Sensory science
• Nutrition science

Background:

• The interplay between physical exercise and nutrition is increasingly studied.
• While exercise effects on appetite hormones and food preferences are known, its impact on taste perception remains less explored.
• Understanding how physical activity influences taste is crucial for nutrition and health research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review existing literature on the effects of physical exercise on human taste perception.
• To analyze the influence of exercise on the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami.
• To identify gaps and suggest future research directions for standardizing exercise and taste testing protocols.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of studies investigating physical exercise and taste perception.
• Inclusion of research covering sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and umami taste modalities.
• Analysis of reported changes in taste intensity, sensitivity, and preference following exercise.

Main Results:

• Acute exercise increased sweet taste intensity, sensitivity, and preference; chronic exercise reduced sweet preference.
• Salty taste intensity and sensitivity decreased, but preference increased post-exercise.
• Sour taste intensity decreased, while preference enhanced after exercise.
• Umami taste intensity and sensitivity increased, but preference decreased.
• No significant effects were found for bitter taste.

Conclusions:

• Physical exercise demonstrably affects taste perception across multiple taste qualities.
• The direction and magnitude of these effects vary depending on the taste, exercise modality (acute vs. chronic), and other factors.
• Standardization of pre-testing nutrition, testing conditions, test types, and exercise protocols is essential for future research reproducibility.