title: Associations between weight status and liking scores for sweet, salt and fat according to the gender in adults (The Nutrinet-Santé study).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As taste preferences may be associated with obesity, the present study investigated whether obese subjects presented heightened liking for the sensations of sweet, salt and fat.
  
  
  METHODS
  Liking scores were determined by a questionnaire including 83 items on liking for sweet or fatty foods, and the preferred extent of seasoning with salt, sweet or fat. Data from 46909 adults included in the French web-based observational cohort of the Nutrinet-Santé study were collected and weighted according to the national population census. Relationships between liking scores and body mass index (BMI) as categorical or linear explanatory variable were assessed separately by gender using covariance and linear regression analyses, adjusted for age, education level, living area, smoking and alcohol.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall liking scores for salt and fat were linearly positively linked to BMI in men and women (P≤0.001) and were higher in obese than in normal-weight individuals. The score difference between BMI categories was greater in women for fat liking only. For sweet liking, results differed between gender and compounding factors. Liking for added sugar and sweet foods was positively linked to BMI in women unlike in men; liking for natural sweetness was negatively linked to BMI in both genders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that the relationship between liking and BMI differs according to the gender in its magnitude for fat and in its nature for sweet, unlike that for salt. Liking for sweet and fat may be linked to overconsumption of the corresponding foods, especially in women. This warrants further investigation.
authors: 1] INRA, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, UMR CNRS 6265/INRA 1324/Université de Bourgogne, F-21000 Dijon, France [2] Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Equipe de Recherche en EpidémiologieNutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Biostatistiques, Inserm U1153, Inra U1125, Cnam, Université Paris 5, Université Paris 7, Bobigny, France.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Deglaire
authors: Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Equipe de Recherche en EpidémiologieNutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Biostatistiques, Inserm U1153, Inra U1125, Cnam, Université Paris 5, Université Paris 7, Bobigny, France.
authors: C
authors: C
authors: Méjean
authors: 1] Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Equipe de Recherche en EpidémiologieNutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Biostatistiques, Inserm U1153, Inra U1125, Cnam, Université Paris 5, Université Paris 7, Bobigny, France [2] Unité de Surveillance et d'Epidémiologie Nutritionnelle, Institut de Veille Sanitaire/Université Paris 13, Bobigny, France.
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Castetbon
authors: Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Equipe de Recherche en EpidémiologieNutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Biostatistiques, Inserm U1153, Inra U1125, Cnam, Université Paris 5, Université Paris 7, Bobigny, France.
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Kesse-Guyot
authors: Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Equipe de Recherche en EpidémiologieNutritionnelle (EREN), Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologie et Biostatistiques, Inserm U1153, Inra U1125, Cnam, Université Paris 5, Université Paris 7, Bobigny, France.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Hercberg
authors: INRA, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, UMR CNRS 6265/INRA 1324/Université de Bourgogne, F-21000 Dijon, France.
authors: P
authors: P
authors: Schlich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D004041:Dietary Fats; D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology; D012737:Sex Factors; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary