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Updated: Aug 12, 2026
04:48
Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System
Published on: May 8, 2018
How sensory experiences shape our eating behaviour: evidence for individual taste differences affecting weight
John M Grigor1, Mairi H Gardner1
1Department of Building and Life Sciences, Abertay University, Bell Street, Dundee, Scotland.
The Proceedings of the Nutrition Society
|August 11, 2026
Summary
Food choices impact obesity. Sensory science explores flavour perception, taste receptors (T1R, T2R), and their links to weight management, though evidence for bitter taste
Area of Science:
- Sensory science and its role in understanding food choices and eating behavior.
- Gustatory perception research, from sensory testing to receptor-level understanding.
Background:
- The modern obesity epidemic highlights the importance of food choice research.
- Sensory science offers crucial insights into flavor perception and eating habits.
- Advances in taste receptor research (T1R for sweet/umami, T2R for bitter) have deepened our understanding of gustation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the latest scientific understanding of flavor perception.
- To explore how factors like metabolism, weight management, exercise, and food design influence flavor perception.
- To examine the relationship between genetic variations in taste perception and weight management.
Main Methods:
- Review of current scientific literature on gustation and flavor perception.
- Investigation into taste receptor function, including T1R and T2R families.
- Analysis of studies examining the influence of genetic diversity (e.g., TAS2R38) on weight management.
- Consideration of dynamic sensory techniques, such as facial electromyography.
Main Results:
- No substantial evidence links variations in bitter taste perception to overall weight status.
- Gustation is a key determinant of eating behavior; chronic high salt/sugar intake may reduce taste sensitivity.
- The link between taste sensitivity and Body Mass Index (BMI) remains inconclusive.
- Human gustatory response to fatty acids is debated, but dysfunction may occur in obesity.
Conclusions:
- While specific taste variations' links to weight are unclear, gustation significantly influences eating behavior.
- Interplay between food structure, texture, oral processing, and taste is crucial for understanding sensory evaluation.
- Dynamic sensory techniques are needed to fully grasp the contribution of sensory evaluation to eating behavior.
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