Changes in liking for sweet and fatty foods following weight loss in women are related to prop phenotype but not to diet

Objective Changes in perceived intensity and liking of tasted foods have not been studied during weight loss from dieting. These outcomes were examined during a 6‐month lifestyle intervention in women who had been classified by sensitivity to the bitter taste marker, 6‐n‐propylthiouracil (PROP), and then randomized to a low‐fat or low‐carbohydrate diet. Methods Sixty‐nine women (BMI = 34.4 kg/m 2 ; age = 44.2 years) followed the low‐fat diet ( n = 31) or low‐carbohydrate diet ( n = 38). At baseline and at 3, and 6 months, they rated overall liking and intensity of attributes in strawberry milk and salad dressing varying in sucrose (0%, 15%, and 30% wt/vol) or fat (10%, 30%, 50% wt/vol) content, respectively. Results Perceived intensity of the attributes did not change. For all participants, the 15% and 30% sucrose milk samples were equally liked at baseline and 3 months, but by 6 months, the 15% sucrose sample was highest liked ( P < 0.007). Also, the 50% fat sample was most liked at baseline and least liked by 6 months ( P = 0.04), and this effect was most pronounced in the nontasters ( P < 0.02). There were no effects of diet prescription on liking. Conclusions Weight loss from dieting resulted in a hedonic shift for foods with lower sucrose and fat content.