Taste, Altered
Conditions
Keywords
taste perception, bariatric surgery, taste preference, weight loss surgery
Brief summary
It is commonly believed that a link exists between BMI and taste perception. One group of researchers observed that women who are obese experience reduced taste sensitivity when compared to normal-weight controls. Others have compared taste sensitivity between lean and obese subjects and found no significant differences. The inconsistencies in these studies demonstrate how much variation in taste sensitivity is possible when different factors are applied in research. Throughout several studies, one element remains constant - bariatric surgery causes appetite aversions. These changes in appetite and food preference likely have a large influence on the overall magnitude of post-surgical weight loss. Although many studies have investigated the changes in taste preference after bariatric surgery, few, if any, have focused on changes in sweet taste perception.
Detailed description
The overall goal of the present project is to determine how future bariatric surgery will affect the taste for sweet liquids. Taste perception will be assessed before surgery (pre-operative, pre-op) and after bariatric surgery, at approximately 1 month. Taste studies will be conducted with solutions prepared freshly before each test using sucrose dissolved in distilled water. Six concentrations of sucrose (table sugar) will be tasted in random order, with the most concentrated solution being roughly the sweetness of soda. The subject is blinded to the concentrations. It is hypothesized that there will be no significant difference in taste perception when pre-op and post-op values are compared. However, the investigators hypothesize that taste preference will identify solutions with lower concentrations post-op.
Interventions
OTHERtaste test
All subjects will complete a procedure to determine their taste sensitivity to sweet tastants.
Sponsors
University of Missouri-Columbia
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
21 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Women who plan to undergo bariatric surgery. * Age: 21-70y. * Non-smokers (at least 3 months post smoking cessation). * Non-diabetic or prediabetic
Exclusion criteria
* Subject on a medication known to affect taste perception: Antibiotics, thyroid medications, psychotropic, neurological, and cardiac medications. * Inability to understand the test instructions. * Subject has already undergone bariatric surgery
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Taste Perception on an Interval Scale | Change from baseline to one month after bariatric surgery | Taste perception will be assessed by the subjects' responses to varying sucrose solutions. The interval scale begins with barely detectable at zero and goes up to strongest imaginable at 10. Subjects will be asked to draw an X at the location on the graph corresponding to their perception. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed