A “Dynamic” Process
The German study “confirms that taste is a dynamic process, which typically matures with age through adolescence and which is directly influenced by hormonal factors,” said Dr. Pribitkin. It’s “hard to separate hormonal and genetic factors, however. Are women better tasters because they are genetically female, because they have more estrogen or because women are often the cooks at home and develop these qualities more readily than men?”
Explore This Issue
April 2013For otolaryngologists, understanding more about what causes changes in taste sensitivity may help with the development of new therapeutic strategies for patients with loss of taste sensitivity, said Adrian Williamson, MD, an otolaryngologist at the Arkansas Otolaryngology Center in Little Rock. “Loss of taste is a difficult and frustrating problem for both the patient and the physician,” he added.
The German study illustrates a correlation between weight status and taste sensitivity; however, it does not explain what is at the root of diminished taste sensitivity—a clinically meaningful question, said Alison Ventura, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of nutrition sciences at the Drexel University College of Nursing and Health in Philadelphia.
“Are some people born with a poorer ability to detect tastes, which predisposes them to overeating and obesity? Or, do overeating and obesity lead to diminished taste sensitivity?” she asked. “A longitudinal study is needed to better understand how and why these diminished taste sensitivities develop, how they relate to the development of obesity and what implications they have for long-term health outcomes.”
PROP Compound
Sensitivity for different taste qualities varies among individuals. The best investigations in this regard have involved the bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), according the authors of the German study on taste sensitivity: Some people find it to be bitter, while others cannot taste it at all or require higher concentrations (Arch Dis Child. 2012;97:1048-1052). Taste blindness for PROP has been linked to a more pleasant rating of bitter taste as found in some vegetables—and lacking this aversion is believed to have an effect on long-term health outcomes. The authors also discussed several studies that noted differences in taste sensitivity between obese and non-obese adults and children. In these studies, individuals with a higher body mass index (BMI) demonstrated lower taste sensitivity and were taste-blind for the bitter compound PROP significantly more often.
“PROP tasters are supposed to be more sensitive not only to bitter taste but also to other taste qualities and the taste of fat,” the authors wrote. “As a result, they need to consume less to have the same taste sensation. This is believed to be related to a larger number of fungiform papillae in tasters. Data concerning a correlation of obesity and taste sensitivity is inconsistent and based mainly on the PROP taster status.”