Sweet taste preferences before and after an intensive medical weight loss intervention.
Medical weight loss could change sweet taste threshold and preferences. The decrease in sweet taste preferences may, in turn, help in the maintenance of weight loss. This study examined the association between sweet taste preferences at baseline and weight change during a medical weight management programme and the impact of diet-induced weight loss on sweet taste preferences.



Adult patients with body mass index ≥32 kg m-2were recruited from a medical weight management clinic. Sweet taste preference was assessed using a forced-choice, paired-comparison tracking method before and after a very-low-calorie diet (VLCD).



Twenty participants were included in the analysis: mean age was 53.1 (standard deviation [SD]: 11.4) years, and 14 were female. The mean body mass index was 41.4 (SD: 7.5) kg m-2. The median preferred sucrose concentration before VLCD was 0.45 M. Following VLCD, mean change in weight was -13.3 (SD: 6.6) kg, and percentage weight change was -11.3% (SD: 5.9%). Based on mixed models with and without adjustment for demographic factors, diabetes status and smoking history, preferred sucrose concentration at baseline did not predict change in longer-term body weight. The change of preferred sucrose concentration following 12 weeks of VLCD was not significant (P-value 0.95).



Change in weight during and after VLCD was not associated with sweet taste preferences at baseline. After diet-induced weight loss, sweet taste preferences did not change.
Department of Preventive Medicine University of Tennessee Health Science Center Memphis TN USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes (MEND) University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA.
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K
Asao
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes (MEND) University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA; Department of Nutritional Sciences University of Michigan School of Public Health Ann Arbor MI USA.
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Rothberg
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes (MEND) University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA.
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L
Arcori
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes (MEND) University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA; Department of Epidemiology University of Michigan School of Public Health Ann Arbor MI USA.
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M
Kaur
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes (MEND) University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA.
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Fowler
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes (MEND) University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA; Department of Epidemiology University of Michigan School of Public Health Ann Arbor MI USA.
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Herman
Obesity; sweet taste; taste preference; very‐low‐calorie diet