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Accepted manuscript

Effects of a Six-Day, Whole-Diet Sweet Taste Intervention on Pleasantness, Desire for, and Intakes of Sweet Foods: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 December 2024

Aleksandra D Bielat
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK
Peter J Rogers
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Katherine M Appleton*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK
*
Correspondence: Prof. Katherine Appleton, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Poole House, Fern Barrow, Bournemouth University, Poole, BH12 5BB, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1202 965985; Fax +44 (0)1202 965314; Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

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Reduced exposure to sweet taste has been proposed to reduce sweet food preferences and intakes, but the evidence to support these associations is limited. This randomised controlled trial investigated the effects of a whole-diet sweet taste intervention for 6 days, on subsequent pleasantness, desire for, and sweet food intakes. Participants (n 104) were randomised to increase (n 40), decrease (n 43), or make no change to (n 21) their consumption of sweet-tasting foods and beverages for six consecutive days. Pleasantness, desire to eat, sweet taste intensity and sweet food intakes were assessed on days 0 and 7. One-hundred-and-two (98%) participants completed the study, and self-reported adherence with the dietary interventions was moderate-good (M=66-72/100mm), with instructions to decrease sweet food consumption reported as more difficult than the other diets (smallest (t(81)=2.45, p=.02, Mdiff=14/100mm, SE=2mm). In intention-to-treat analyses, participants in the decrease sweet food consumption group reported higher sweet taste intensity perceptions at day 7 compared to day 0 (F(2,101)=4.10, p=.02, Mdiff=6/100mm, SE=2mm). No effects were found for pleasantness (F(2,101)=2.04, p=.14), desire to eat (F(2,101)=1.49, p=.23) or any of the measures of sweet food intake (largest F(2,101)=2.53, p=.09). These results were confirmed in regression analyses which took self-reported adherence to the diets into account. Our findings suggest that exposure to sweet taste does not affect pleasantness, desire for, or intakes of, sweet-tasting foods and beverages. Public health recommendations to limit the consumption of sweet-tasting foods and beverages to reduce sweet food preferences may require revision.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© The Authors 2024