Gustatory Function Can Improve after Multimodal Lifestyle Intervention: A Longitudinal Observational Study in Pediatric Patients with Obesity

Intensity and Appreciation of Sweet Taste Solutions Are Modulated by High-Intensity Aerobic Exercise in Adolescent Athletic Males

PURPOSE

Exercise seems to influence taste, but the effect of exercise on specific tastes is still to be elucidated among youths.

METHODS

Athlete boys aged 14-16 years were recruited. Participants (n = 19) ages ranged 14.7 (0.7) years, weight 59.6 (7.8) kg, and height of 173.4 (7.9) cm. Distinct taste tests were administered using low and high concentrations of sweet, salty, and bitter solutions before and after a 30-minute aerobic exercise session (70%-90% of estimated maximal heart rate). McNemmar tests, standard paired t tests, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and Cohen d effect size tests were used to analyze taste identification, intensity, and appreciation.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in taste identification capacities after exercise. Participants perceived more intense (P = .037) and appreciated better (P = .004) the low-concentration sweet solution after exercise. Taste appreciation was increased for the high-concentration sweet solution (P = .009) after exercise. Effect sizes were moderate (0.516-0.776). Possible effects were noted for the intensity of salty solutions (P = .0501 and .0543).

CONCLUSION

Following an exercise session, participants had increased perceived intensity and appreciation of sweet solutions. This adds new insights into how exercise influences taste in youths, a topic less documented compared with adults, suggesting further research into its impact on dietary choices is needed.

Dietary Patterns in Adolescent Obesity as Predictors of Long-Term Success Following an Intensive Inpatient Lifestyle Programme

(1) Background: Lifestyle interventions for adolescents with obesity show minor long-term effects on anthropometric parameters. The persistence of dietary changes after obesity inpatient rehabilitation has not been sufficiently investigated. (2) Objectives: To analyse dietary patterns in German adolescents with obesity as predictors of long-term success following an intensive inpatient lifestyle programme regarding food choices as well as body weight and comorbidities. (3) Methods: Food consumption data of 137 German adolescents with obesity aged 10-17 years were collected by a nutrition interview. Cluster analysis was used to group the participants according to their food consumption. Dietary patterns, changes in body weight and insulin resistance were compared over a 2-year-period. (4) Results: Three dietary patterns were identified. Big Eaters (n = 32) consume high amounts of total sugar and meat, Moderate Eaters (n = 66) have a diet comparable to the national average, and Snackers (n = 39) have a particularly high consumption of total sugar. Big Eaters and Snackers significantly reduced the consumption of total sugar. Among Moderate Eaters, no persistent changes were observed. (5) Conclusion: Weight reduction interventions can induce long-lasting changes in the diet of adolescents with obesity. Therefore, the success of a weight reduction intervention should not be determined by weight reduction only.

Taste dysfunction in children - a clinical perspective and review of assessment methods

Taste dysfunction has been associated with aging and is therefore thought to be less common in children. However, children can face medical conditions influencing their taste function. Measuring and understanding taste dysfunction in children may foster the development of treatments/interventions mitigating the detrimental effects of taste dysfunction on children's appetite and quality of life. But measuring loss of taste function requires adequate tools. This review was conducted to (1) provide an overview of etiologies (i.e., disease and iatrogenic) associated with taste dysfunction in a pediatric population; (2) to investigate which tools (psychophysical tests and questionnaires) are available to assess taste function in children; and (3) to identify what tools can be and are actually used in clinical practice. It is concluded that only a minority of available tools to assess taste function in children are readily suitable for a pediatric clinical setting. Considering the profound impact of taste dysfunction in the pediatric setting, developing and implementing a standard taste test that is sensitive, simple, and practical to use with children is pertinent.

Obesity-induced taste dysfunction, and its implications for dietary intake

The incidence of obesity has dramatically increased in recent years, and poses a public health challenge for which an effective and scalable intervention strategy is yet to be found. Our food choices are one of the primary drivers of obesity, where the overconsumption of energy from foods high in fat and sugar can be particularly problematic. Unfortunately, these same foods also tend to be highly palatable. We select foods more on their sensory properties than on any other factor, such as price, convenience, or healthfulness. Previous evidence from human sensory studies has suggested a depressed sense of taste in panelists with obesity. Evidence from animal models also demonstrates a clear deficiency in taste buds occurring with obesity, suggesting that damage to the taste system may result from an obese state. In this review only taste, as opposed to smell, will be examined. Here we seek to bring together evidence from a diverse array of human and animal studies into taste response, dietary intake, and physiology, to better understand changes in taste with obesity, with the goal of understanding whether taste may provide a novel target for intervention in the treatment of obesity.