Genetics may impact sweet taste preferences and metabolic health, study finds

Preliminary findings from a study have found that the reason some people crave sweet or fatty-tasting food might be explained by genetics. Carrying a gene causing a preference for sweets was linked to eating more hyperpalatable foods and showed a heightened risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

The research, yet to be published, is one of the largest genome-wide association studies — scanning DNA to look for genetic differences linked to specific traits — for taste preferences that has been performed, the researchers note.

They used the UK Biobank — a database of half a million people in the UK reporting information about food preferences, health, and diet through questionnaires.

“These findings suggest that susceptibility to overeating hyperpalatable foods, such as sugary drinks, fried foods, and potato chips, is partially rooted in our genes,” says co-author of the study, Julie Gervis, Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow in the Center for Genomic Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, US. 

“This could help explain why some people struggle more than others to make healthy food choices and could help open the door to more personalized approaches for preventing diet-related chronic disease risk.”

Taste preferences

The researchers note that taste preferences are difficult to measure in large groups of people. They designed an approach combining information from food questionnaires to sensory databases, describing the characteristics of taste such as sweetness, saltiness, and fattiness.

“This approach vastly improves their ability to study the genetic underpinnings of taste preferences in large groups of people and to understand the roles of these inherited predispositions in complex human behaviors and metabolic diseases,” says Gervis.

Adding to this approach, the team searched for genetic differences in UK Biobank data and compared them to people’s taste preferences.

People with a genetic preference for sweet foods consumed 7 g of sugar more daily on average, and also more hyperpalatable foods.This information was then used to make a single genetic score capturing cumulative genetic predispositions to prefer each taste, explain the researchers.

The team also checked if the people with the genetic predisposition to prefer sweets also consumed a higher amount of sweet foods, and if they had a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes and obesity. Factors such as total energy intake, age, sex, and genetic ancestry were taken into account to ensure taste preference genetics was disentangled.

They found that people with a genetic preference for sweet foods consumed 7 g of sugar more per day on average, alongside increased consumption of hyperpalatable foods. The gene was also linked to a slightly higher risk of type 2 diabetes and higher body weight.

Metabolic disease

Gervis comments that the findings suggest that genes underlying taste preferences may play an important role in metabolic disease risk by influencing diet habits. “This kind of information could help identify people at higher risk for diet-related diseases earlier on, so they can get targeted support.”

The researchers say the findings could also help personalize dietary interventions suitable for a person’s taste preferences, such as using specific spices rather than a “one-size-fits-all diet plan.” 

For future research, the team is looking to replicate these findings by investigating people’s genetic predisposition to other taste preferences, such as sour, bitter, and umami, and how this impacts diet quality and risk for metabolic diseases.

Additionally, the researchers are currently examining if genetic predispositions for taste preferences have an impact on response to GLP-1 weight loss drugs and other medications for metabolic diseases.

They explain that the line of work is based on findings indicating that some people who take these medications experience changes in taste, which may impact eating behavior, food preferences, and overall quality of life.

The team says the next project aims to provide further insights on who may be more likely to benefit from GLP-1 medications, which could help advance broader efforts in precision medicine for obesity and type 2 diabetes.