Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • ZME & more
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
Home Health Genetics

Our genes could make us seek, or avoid, fatty foods

Our food preferences could be rooted in our genes.

by Alexandru Micu
July 14, 2020
in Genetics, Health, News, Nutrition, Science
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

While most of us would agree that fat (when properly used) makes food taste amazing, new research shows this isn’t a steadfast law. Our enjoyment of fats lies, at least in part, on having the right genes for it.

Image credits Steve Buissinne.

New research from the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania found that our genetic makeup plays an important role in our enjoyment (and even perception) of fatty foods.

Fat chance

“Person-to-person diversity in the positive perception of fattiness derives partially from an individual’s genetic make-up,” said senior author Danielle Reed, PhD, Monell Associate Director.

“How the taste, smell, and flavor of food and drink affect liking, and therefore the amount and type of food consumed, ultimately affects human health.”

The team worked with identical and fraternal twins who had reached adulthood and attended the annual Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, OH, in 2018.

Participants were asked to rate how good low- and high-fat potato chips tasted, and estimate how much fat they contained. Participants also gave a saliva sample so the team could look at their DNA.

Genetically-identical twins had more similar preferences for the chips compared to fraternal twins (which are more genetically-distinct). The team also sequenced the genetic material of these participants, looking at hundreds of thousands of locations in their DNA strands where relevant genes were likely to lie.

The use of twins allowed the team to compare very similar genomes, and they identified two new specific gene variants that correlated with the enjoyment of fatty food.

The findings are important because our enjoyment of food drives our purchasing patterns, the authors explain.

“Most people assume more liking drives more intake, but decades of research tell us the reverse is true — we avoid what we don’t like,” said Hayes. “I may love bacon, but if I listen to my cardiologist, I’m still not going to eat it every morning.”

The results suggest that although fats are an important part of our food, some people are born with a genetic makeup that pushes them to like, or avoid, fat. In the future, the team plans to examine whether such factors are universal by testing people around the world with different types of fat in different food items.

ALSO READ:  The future of AI voice is here: new AI has emotionally intelligent synthetic speech

The paper “Studies of Human Twins Reveal Genetic Variation That Affects Dietary Fat Perception” has been published in the journal Chemical Senses.

Tags: fatgenestastetwins

ShareTweetShare
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • ZME & more

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • ZME & more
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.