Elsevier

Appetite

Volume 49, Issue 1, July 2007, Page 277
Appetite

Age and hormonal effects on sweet taste and preference.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2007.03.029Get rights and content

Hormonal variation affects bitter taste; bitterness varies with the menstrual cycle, rises in early pregnancy and falls after menopause. Less is known about hormonal effects on sweet taste, but we observed that sweetness varies more among pre-menopausal women than among men, which suggests variation with the menstrual cycle (SSIB, 1997). Here we expand that observation to sweet taste and food/beverage hedonics across the lifespan. Attendees at lectures (N=4212, ages 18–90) rated the sweetness of a piece of candy and the bitterness of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) using the general Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS); variability was assessed from the regression of sweetness on bitterness, thereby accounting for effects of taster status. Although the sweetness of the candy did not change with age, sweetness ratings were more variable for women of child-bearing age than for same-aged men. Attendees also rated their liking for 26 foods and beverages (including sugar) on a hedonic version of the gLMS that assesses liking for foods in the context of all hedonic experience. Liking for sugar (and for sweets in general) declined with age, with women showing more rapid decline. However, ratings for high-fat foods rose with age for both sexes. The maximum, minimum and average hedonic ratings from each age cohort provide an estimate of how food palatability changes over time. The maximum rating did not change with age, but the minimum and average ratings rose. This generalized increase in food liking may contribute to the increase in body mass observed with advancing age (DC 00283).

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