Sweet Taste Preferences and Dietary Intake Patterns

Sweet taste preference is an innate trait that has evolved to guide organisms towards energy‐rich foods, yet individual liking and consumption patterns vary widely. Genetic factors, developmental stage and early dietary experiences shape sensitivity and hedonic response to sweetness. At the population level, high preference for sweet‐tasting foods and beverages often aligns with increased intake of added sugars and ultra-processed products, contributing to positive energy balance and risk of overweight and obesity. Emerging evidence highlights bidirectional modulation of taste perception by macronutrient signals, inflammation and habitual exposure, suggesting a dynamic interplay between diet composition and sensory processing. Understanding these mechanisms has global significance for public health strategies, including reformulation of food products, targeted interventions to moderate sweet exposure and personalised nutritional guidance. By integrating molecular, behavioural and epidemiological insights, researchers are beginning to unravel how sweet taste preferences intersect with dietary patterns to influence energy intake, metabolic health and long-term weight trajectories.

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Sweet Taste Preferences and Dietary Intake Patterns publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sweet taste preferences and dietary intake patterns across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Macronutrient–taste signalling: Pathways by which nutrients such as sugars and fats modulate taste receptor function and neural activity to influence feeding decisions.

Sensory plasticity: The capacity of the taste system to adjust perceptual sensitivity or preference in response to dietary or environmental changes.

Sweet-liker phenotype: A classification based on individuals’ heightened hedonic response to sweet stimuli, often linked to greater sugar intake.

Ultra-processed foods: Industrially formulated products high in added sugars, fats and additives, created through multiple processing steps and associated with elevated energy density.

References

1. Fat- and sugar-induced signals regulate sweet and fat taste perception in Drosophila. Cell Reports (2023).
2. Novel Perspective on the Plasticity of Taste Perception: Is Food- and Exercise-Induced Inflammation Associated with Sweet Taste Sensitivity and Preference?. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2024).
3. Does sweetness exposure drive ‘sweet tooth’?. British Journal Of Nutrition (2024).
4. Sweetness preference and its impact on energy intake and body weight – a review of evidence. Frontiers in Nutrition (2023).