Individual differences in taste perception - focus on food-related behavior

The significance of taste perception in food-related behavior needs to be investigated to learn to more efficiently guide people toward a healthier diet. This study aimed to reveal the associations between food-related behavior and individual differences in taste perception regarding five taste modalities: sour, bitter, sweet, salty, and umami. Gender, age, education, body mass index, and smoking status were included as background factors. Study subjects (N = 205) evaluated the intensity and identified the taste modality of five prototypical tastants at five concentration levels. Taste modality-specific sensitivity groups were determined as well as a taste sensitivity score describing overall taste sensitivity. Online questionnaires were used to gather data regarding background factors and food-related behavior, including consumption of vegetables, fruits, and berries; habits to mask or modify the taste of foods; and use-frequency and recalled pleasantness of foods and beverages. The subjects varied the most in bitter and umami sensitivity. The most frequent taste confusions were between sourness and bitterness, and between umami and saltiness. Female gender and young age were related to higher taste sensitivity in general. None of the taste sensitivity measures was related to the pleasantness of foods. However, all of them were related to some aspects of food consumption, modality-specific sensitivity more broadly than the taste sensitivity score. The background factors were related to both food consumption and pleasantness. This study highlights that actual behavior toward food should be investigated instead of hedonics concerning the associations with taste sensitivity. More detailed results can be achieved by focusing on sensitivity to taste modalities separately rather than using a general descriptor of taste sensitivity. Individual differences in taste perception should be acknowledged in all studies involving the sense of taste.Yksilölliset erot maistamisessa – huomioiden erityisesti ruokaan liittyvä käyttäytyminen Maistamisen merkitystä ruokakäyttäytymisessä täytyy tutkia, jotta ihmisiä osataan ohjata tehokkaammin kohti terveellistä ruokavaliota. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää ruokakäyttäytymisen ja yksilöllisen maistamisen välisiä yhteyksiä huomioiden viisi makua: hapan, karvas, makea, suolainen ja umami. Taustamuuttujina olivat sukupuoli, ikä, koulutus, BMI ja tupakointi. Tutkimukseen osallistujat (N = 205) arvioivat viiden makuyhdisteen maun voimakkuuden ja tunnistivat makuominaisuuden viidessä eri pitoisuudessa. Voimakkuusarvioiden perusteella muodostettiin makukohtaiset herkkyysryhmät ja laskettiin makuaistin kokonaisherkkyysmittari. Lisäksi kerättiin tietoja osallistujien taustoista sekä ruokakäyttäytymisestä, mukaan lukien vihannesten, hedelmien, ja marjojen kulutus; tavat peittää tai muokata elintarvikkeiden makuja; ja elintarvikkeiden käyttöuseus ja miellyttävyys. Osallistujat erosivat toisistaan eniten karvaan ja umamin maun suhteen.Yleisimmät sekaannukset makujen tunnistamisessa olivat happaman maun sekoittaminen karvaaseen sekä umamin ja suolaisen sekoittaminen keskenään. Naispuolisuus ja alhainen ikä olivat yhteydessä herkempään makuaistiin. Mikään makuherkkyyteen liittyvä muuttuja ei ollut yhteydessä elintarvikkeiden miellyttävyyteen, mutta jokainen niistä oli yhteydessä johonkin elintarvikkeen kulutukseen; makukohtaiset herkkyydet useampaan kuin kokonaisherkkyysmittari. Taustamuuttujat olivat yhteydessä sekä kulutukseen että miellyttävyyteen. Tämä tutkimus korostaa, että olisi tärkeää tutkia varsinaista käyttäytymistä eikä niinkään ruuan miellyttävyyttä, kun halutaan selvittää ruokakäyttäytymisen ja makuaistin herkkyyden yhteyttä. Keskittymällä makukohtaisten herkkyyksien tutkimiseen saatetaan saavuttaa yksikohtaisempaa tietoa kuin yleisellä makuaistin mittarilla. Yksilölliset erot makuaistissa tulisi huomioida kaikissa maistamiseen liittyvissä tutkimuksissa

The Individual Differences in the Perception of Oral Chemesthesis Are Linked to Taste Sensitivity

Chemesthesis is a part of the flavor experience of foods. Chemesthetic perception is studied to understand its effect on food-related behavior and health. Thus, the objective of this research was to study individual differences in chemesthetic perception. Our study involved sensory tests of three chemesthetic modalities (astringency, pungency, and cooling). Participants (N = 196) evaluated the intensity of samples in different concentrations using a line scale under sensory laboratory conditions. Aluminum ammonium sulfate, capsaicin, and menthol were used as the prototypic chemesthetic compounds. The participants were divided into sensitivity groups in different chemesthetic modalities by hierarchical clustering based on their intensity ratings. In addition, an oral chemesthesis sensitivity score was determined to represent the generalized chemesthesis sensitivity. The results showed that people can perceive chemesthesis on different intensity levels. There were significantly positive correlations between (1) sensitivity scores for oral chemesthesis and taste as well as (2) each chemesthesis and taste modalities. Moreover, based on the multinomial logistic regression model, significant interactions between oral chemesthesis and taste sensitivity were discovered. Our findings showed that people can be classified into different oral chemesthesis sensitivity groups. The methods and results of this study can be utilized to investigate associations with food-related behavior and health

The Individual Differences in the Perception of Oral Chemesthesis Are Linked to Taste Sensitivity

Chemesthesis is a part of the flavor experience of foods. Chemesthetic perception is studied to understand its effect on food-related behavior and health. Thus, the objective of this research was to study individual differences in chemesthetic perception. Our study involved sensory tests of three chemesthetic modalities (astringency, pungency, and cooling). Participants (N = 196) evaluated the intensity of samples in different concentrations using a line scale under sensory laboratory conditions. Aluminum ammonium sulfate, capsaicin, and menthol were used as the prototypic chemesthetic compounds. The participants were divided into sensitivity groups in different chemesthetic modalities by hierarchical clustering based on their intensity ratings. In addition, an oral chemesthesis sensitivity score was determined to represent the generalized chemesthesis sensitivity. The results showed that people can perceive chemesthesis on different intensity levels. There were significantly positive correlations between (1) sensitivity scores for oral chemesthesis and taste as well as (2) each chemesthesis and taste modalities. Moreover, based on the multinomial logistic regression model, significant interactions between oral chemesthesis and taste sensitivity were discovered. Our findings showed that people can be classified into different oral chemesthesis sensitivity groups. The methods and results of this study can be utilized to investigate associations with food-related behavior and health

Factors explaining individual differences in taste sensitivity and taste modality recognition among Finnish adults

The objective of this study was to investigate the factors affecting interindividual variation in the sense of taste among Finnish adults. Two components of taste function were examined with five established taste modalities: taste sensitivity and capability to identify taste modalities. The potential explanatory factors for taste function included gender, age, BMI, and smoking. In total, 205 volunteers participated in the study at the sensory evaluation laboratory of Functional Foods Forum. Older age (>50 years) and male gender predicted a less sensitive sense of taste in general. For umami sensitivity, high BMI along with older age predicted lower sensitivity. Additionally, taste recognition and sensitivity were related in bitter and umami tastes. Older age was also associated with a poorer capability in taste recognition. Sour–bitter, umami–salty, and salty–umami were the most frequent taste confusions.</p

Food Consumption and Emotions at a Salad Lunch Buffet in a Multisensory Environment

The food experience is multisensory and multisensory external stimuli may affect food choice and emotions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a multisensory eating environment on food choice, intake and the emotional states of the subjects in a salad lunch buffet setting. A total of 30 female subjects consumed a salad lunch twice in the multisensory laboratory. The two test conditions (control and multisensory condition with environmental stimuli) were randomized and the visits were scheduled one week apart. Subjects selected and ate a meal from a salad buffet including 14 food items and the intake of each item was weighed. They answered an online questionnaire about the meal and their emotional states (20 different emotion terms) after the lunch. There was no significant difference in the food consumption between the control and multisensory conditions. The subjects were very satisfied with their lunch for both study visits but the pleasantness of the eating environment was rated higher under the multisensory condition. In emotional terms, the subjects selected the term "happy" significantly more frequently under the multisensory condition compared with the control. In conclusion, the multisensory eating environment in this study was not related to food intake but may be associated with positive emotions. The effect of the eating environment on food choice and experience deserves further study with a larger study population in a real lunch restaurant setting.Peer reviewe

Individual Differences in the Perception of Color Solutions

The color of food is important for flavor perception and food selection. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the visual color perception of liquid samples among Finnish adult consumers by their background variables. Participants (n = 205) ranked six different colored solutions just by looking according to four attributes: from most to least pleasant, healthy, sweet and sour. The color sample rated most frequently as the most pleasant was red (37%), the most healthy white (57%), the most sweet red and orange (34% both) and the most sour yellow (54%). Ratings of certain colors differed between gender, age, body mass index (BMI) and education groups. Females regarded the red color as the sweetest more often than males (p = 0.013) while overweight subjects rated the orange as the sweetest more often than normal weight subjects (p = 0.029). Personal characteristics may be associated with some differences in color associations.</p

Investigating visual attention toward foods in a salad buffet with mobile eye tracking

Mobile eye tracking (MET) enables the recording of gaze data in less-controlled research environments, but best practices for its use in studies about visual attention to foods are yet undetermined. This study supports the building of a coherent framework for this methodological approach by discussing current eye-tracking trends in the field, applying MET in an experiment with real foods, and proposing methodological approaches for future studies. In the experiment, 32 female participants’ gaze data were recorded while they inspected a salad buffet for 20 s and then assembled a self-choice salad. The functionality of fixation, scanpath, and pupil size measures was investigated, focusing on associations between eye movements and food item color and position, eye movements and food item preference, and pupil size and selected measures. Dish placement affected the relative amount of visits to a single food item, whereas food item color and preference were not associated with the examined measures. The pupil-size measure did not function with the elderly participants. Importantly, a simple cluster analysis, based on a scanpath and a food selection measure, helped to illustrate different profiles of food view and selection. It was determined that food item position should be carefully considered in MET studies involving real foods, and scanpath measures could be useful in bringing forth behavioral differences that are not revealed by fixation parameters alone. Importantly, identifying “attention-action” profiles by combining eye-tracking and other measures seems to be a fruitful way of approaching individual differences in food viewing and selection.</p

The Individual Differences in the Perception of Oral Chemesthesis Are Linked to Taste Sensitivity

Chemesthesis is a part of the flavor experience of foods. Chemesthetic perception is studied to understand its effect on food-related behavior and health. Thus, the objective of this research was to study individual differences in chemesthetic perception. Our study involved sensory tests of three chemesthetic modalities (astringency, pungency, and cooling). Participants (N = 196) evaluated the intensity of samples in different concentrations using a line scale under sensory laboratory conditions. Aluminum ammonium sulfate, capsaicin, and menthol were used as the prototypic chemesthetic compounds. The participants were divided into sensitivity groups in different chemesthetic modalities by hierarchical clustering based on their intensity ratings. In addition, an oral chemesthesis sensitivity score was determined to represent the generalized chemesthesis sensitivity. The results showed that people can perceive chemesthesis on different intensity levels. There were significantly positive correlations between (1) sensitivity scores for oral chemesthesis and taste as well as (2) each chemesthesis and taste modalities. Moreover, based on the multinomial logistic regression model, significant interactions between oral chemesthesis and taste sensitivity were discovered. Our findings showed that people can be classified into different oral chemesthesis sensitivity groups. The methods and results of this study can be utilized to investigate associations with food-related behavior and health.</p

Characterizing Individual Differences in Sweet Taste Hedonics: Test Methods, Locations, and Stimuli

Sweetness drives the consumption of added sugars, so understanding how to best measure sweet hedonics is important for developing strategies to lower sugar intake. However, methods to assess hedonic response to sweetness vary, making results across studies difficult to integrate. We compared methods to measure optimal sucrose concentration in 21 healthy adults (1) using paired-comparison preference tracking vs. ratings of liking, (2) with participants in the laboratory vs. at home, and (3) using aqueous solutions vs. vanilla milk. Tests were replicated on separate days to assess test-retest reliability. Test-retest reliability was similar between laboratory and home testing, but tended to be better for vanilla milk and preference tracking. Optimal sucrose concentration was virtually identical between laboratory and home, slightly lower when estimated via preference tracking, and about 50% lower in vanilla milk. However, optimal sucrose concentration correlated strongly between methods, locations, and stimuli. More than 50% of the variability in optimal sucrose concentration could be attributed to consistent differences among individuals, while much less variability was attributable to differences between methods. These results demonstrate convergent validity between methods, support testing at home, and suggest that aqueous solutions can be useful proxies for some commonly consumed beverages for measuring individual differences