BLAME YOUR TONGUE FOR OBESITY

Previous studies have suggested that obese persons are less sensitive to sweet taste, but little is known about the specific differences in sense of taste between obese and lean individuals. Researchers investigated these differences by studying the taste responses of two strains of rats…thin and fat.

The researchers implanted electrodes in the rodents’ brains to record the firing of nerve cells when the rats’ tongues were exposed to various tastes. The fat rats had about 50 percent fewer neurons firing when their tongues were exposed to sucrose, suggesting that obese rats are overall less sensitive to sucrose.

“When you have excess body weight, the brain is supposed to tell you not to eat more, or not choose high caloric meals” said Hajnal. “But this control apparently fails and thus the obesity epidemic is rising, and we want to find out how the sense of taste drives up food intake.”