Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum Tongue has built-in taste for fatty food

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051101/hl_nm/tongue_built_in_taste_fatty_food_dc

"In experiments with rodents, French scientists identified a receptor on the tongue that appears to detect dietary fat. This counters the traditional view that the taste buds pick up only five basic flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and "umami," -- a flavor associated with the food additive monosodium glutamate (MSG)."

"Some past studies, Besnard and his colleagues note, have shown that obese people have a greater preference for fatty food than leaner individuals do -- which, they say, suggests that dysregulation in fat "perception" may play some role in obesity." Interesting Rose. Chicken or the egg? Do obese people have the "preference" first or do they prefer the fatty foods after gorging?
Sincerely,

I've often said that I have a "fat tooth" and not a sweet tooth. But I'm not overweight (6', 170 lbs.)

Surely there's more to it than food preference. My ex, who was a little overweight most of the time, observed my eating habits in order to figure out "how I do it." (I was unaware she was taking mental notes.) She told me that she noticed I stopped eating when I was full. That was apparently a revelation. I thought this was a strange observation to make. Who WOULDN'T stop eating when they feel full?

http://scienceagogo.com/news/19980931125128data_trunc_sys.shtml
Perception and understanding have changed, indeed. I wonder how many more "flavors" there are.

Sincerely,

I would have to guess that the receptors had to be there in order to have the taste preference to begin with.

There are so many factors in obesity that I would hate to blame just one thing for it. I know some fat people who eat very little yet gain weight with normal activity on 1k calories or less a day. I know people who consume in excess of 3k calories per day with normal activity and can't maintain their weight. Don't be so quick to assume that fat people "gorge themselves" or habitually overeat. Hyperinsulinism can cause people to gain weight no matter how little they consume. Their brains can be starving yet their bodies keep laying down fat. When the insulin dumps, the body responds.

Dieting is what makes most people fatter. It's a tough gig being overweight; it's even tougher when people look down on you for something you literally have no control over. Good choices for some people are not good choices for other people. The best one can hope for is to understand one's own body and go with that understanding. It works for me.

I think the national weight problem in the US has several sources that are societal, in addition to biological reasons.

-Our lifestyles are more sedentary than ever before, from jobs to leisure activities.

-Traditional regional diets, especially in the Midwest and Southeast, are loaded with calories because they were *designed* for agricultural persuits.

-Cars, cars, cars! Sprawling growth patterns in most areas lack accomodation for non-motorized travel.

-Restaurant chains concoct their offerings to take advantage of the sweet tooth and the fat tooth.

-The number of people who know how to cook seems to have plummetted, making people more likely to eat at sweet tooth/fat tooth restaurants.

"Don't be so quick to assume that fat people "gorge themselves" or habitually overeat." -A. Rose

I agree. "Gorging" does not accurately reflect the intention of my post. Is the fatty food preference inherent or is it learned? This is what I mean to say.

Sincerely,

I would have to say I think the predilection for fatty fooods in inherent, combined with the barbaric practice of soothing or appeasing people, especially little people, with foods high in sugar and fat.

"Oh, don't cry, honey. Here, have a cookie. Take two they're small."

Thus we are taught early that food means comfort, security, even love. Small wonder in our older, more sedentary days we turn to food for comfort and love, instead of seeing it as nourishment, dispassionately. One can only have so much love, but oreo's are on sale at your local grocery store and you can have all the fatty sweets you can afford. Even breakfast cereals are oversweetened and loaded with carbohydrates and fats. Got reason to celebrate? How about a nice juicy steak? Grill everything you eat, be sure and brush it with oil before you cook it so it doesn't stick and tastes better. It's EVERYWHERE!!