Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
7310318 | Appetite | 2014 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
Subgroups based on flavor preferences were identified and their genetic and behavior related characteristics investigated using extensive data from 331 Finnish twins (21-25 years, 146 men) including 47 monozygotic (MZ) and 93 dizygotic (DZ) pairs, and 51 twin individuals. The subgroup identification (hierarchical and K-means clustering) was based on liking responses to food names representing sour, umami, and spicy flavor qualities. Furthermore, sensory tests were conducted, a questionnaire on food likes completed, and various eating behavior related traits measured with validated scales. Sensory data included intensity ratings of PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil-impregnated filter paper), hedonic and intensity responses to sourness (orange juice with and without added citric acid, 0.42%), pungency (strawberry jelly with and without added capsaicin 0.00013%) and umami ('mouthfeel flavor' taste solution). Ratings of liking of 41 general food names were categorized into salty-and-fatty, sweet-and-fatty, fruits and vegetables and fish foods. Subgroup differences (complex samples procedure) and the genetics underlying the subgroups (structural equation modeling) were investigated. Of the resulting two groups (basic, n = 140, adventurous n = 152; non-grouped n = 39), the adventurous expressed higher liking for sour and spicy foods, and had more tolerance for capsaicin burn in the sensory-hedonic test. The adventurous were also less food neophobic (25.9 ± 9.1 vs. 32.5 ± 10.6, respectively) and expressed higher liking for fruits and vegetables compared to the basic group. Genetic effects were shown to underlie the subgroups (heritability 72%, CI: 36-92%). Linkage analysis for 27 candidate gene regions revealed suggestively that being adventurous is linked to TAS1R1 and PKD1L3 genes. These results indicate that food neophobia and genetic differences may form a barrier through which individual flavor preferences are generated.
Keywords
PROPpkd1l3FNSTFEQ6-n-PropylthiouracilRSEGWALMSHWEMAFCitric acidgenome wide associationDizygoticSournessPungencyEmotional eatingUncontrolled eatingGHILikingminor allele frequencyCSFCognitive restraintLabeled Magnitude ScaleFood neophobia scaleMonozygoticFood neophobiaHardy Weinberg EquilibriumHeritabilityThree-Factor Eating QuestionnaireSingle nucleotide polymorphismLinkageSNPCapsaicin
Related Topics
Life Sciences
Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Food Science
Authors
Outi Törnwall, Karri Silventoinen, Tero Hiekkalinna, Markus Perola, Hely Tuorila, Jaakko Kaprio,