Sweet taste preferences are partly genetically determined: Identification of a trait locus on chromosome 16
Open accessAbstract
Background Humans have an innate preference for sweet taste, but the degree of liking for sweet foods varies individually.Objective The proportion of inherited sweet taste preference was studied. A genome-wide linkage analysis was performed to locate the underlying genetic elements in the genome.Design A total of 146 subjects (32% men, 68% women) aged 18-78 y from 26 Finnish families evaluated the intensity and pleasantness of 3 suprathreshold solutions of sucrose (3.0%, 7.5%, and 18.75%) and plain water and the intensity of filter paper impregnated with 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). The subjects also reported the pleasantness and the use frequency of 5 sweet foods (chocolate, candy, ice cream, sweet desserts, and sweet pastry) and completed a food-behavior questionnaire that measured their craving for sweet foods.Results Of the chemosensory functions, the pleasantness rating of the strongest (18.75%) sucrose solution and the intensity rating of PROP yielded the highest heritability estimates (41% and 66%, respectively). The pleasantness and the use frequency of sweet foods (both variables calculated as a mean of ratings for 5 food items) and the craving for sweet foods showed significant heritability (40%, 50%, and 31%, respectively). A logarithm of odds score of 3.5 (P=0.00003) was detected for use frequency of sweet foods on chromosome 16p11.2 (marker D16S753).Conclusions Sweet taste preferences are partly inherited. Chromosome 16p11.2 may harbor genetic variations that affect the consumption of sweet foods.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Sweet liking is partly inherited and linked with alcoholism.
“sweet liking has been demonstrated to be partly inherited [207] and linked with alcoholism [208].”
From The Role of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Sensory Factors in Sweetness Perception of Food and Beverages: A Review (2019) · cites this paper as [207]
Cites
Genetic dissection of complex traits: guidelines for interpreting and reporting linkage results
Lander, E. S., & Kruglyak, L. (1995) · Nature Genetics · doi:10.1038/ng1195-241 · Cited by 5,196 · see citing works
Sensory Evaluation of Food: Principles and Practices
Lawless, H. T., & Heymann, H. (2010) · Food Science Text Series · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-6488-5 · Cited by 4,815 · see citing works
Interval Estimation for a Binomial Proportion
Brown, L. D., Cai, T., & Dasgupta, A. (2001) · Statistical Science · doi:10.1214/ss/1009213286 · Cited by 3,622 · see citing works
Genetic Dissection of Complex Traits
Lander, E. S., & Schork, N. J. (1994) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.8091226 · Cited by 3,425 · see citing works
Merlin—rapid analysis of dense genetic maps using sparse gene flow trees
Abecasis, G. R., Cherny, S. S., Cookson, W., & Cardon, L. R. (2001) · Nature Genetics · doi:10.1038/ng786 · Cited by 3,323 · see citing works
Multipoint Quantitative-Trait Linkage Analysis in General Pedigrees
Almasy, L. A., & Blangero, J. (1998) · The American Journal of Human Genetics · doi:10.1086/301844 · Cited by 3,007 · see citing works
PedCheck: A Program for Identification of Genotype Incompatibilities in Linkage Analysis
O'Connell, J. R., & Weeks, D. E. (1998) · The American Journal of Human Genetics · doi:10.1086/301904 · Cited by 2,063 · see citing works
DEVELOPMENT OF FOOD PREFERENCES
Birch, L. L. (1999) · Annual Review of Nutrition · doi:10.1146/annurev.nutr.19.1.41 · Cited by 1,757 · see citing works
Sensory evaluation of food—Principles and practices 1998
KILCAST, D. (1998) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/s0950-3293(98)00004-4 · Cited by 1,718 · see citing works
Mammalian sweet taste receptors
Nelson, G., Hoon, M. A., Chandrashekar, J., Zhang, Y., Ryba, N. J. P., & Zuker, C. S. (2001) · Cell · doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(01)00451-2 · Cited by 1,702 · see citing works
Human receptors for sweet and umami taste
Li, X., Staszewski, L. M., Xu, H., Durick, K., Zoller, M. J., & Adler, E. (2002) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.072090199 · Cited by 1,380 · see citing works
Neural Correlates of Behavioral Preference for Culturally Familiar Drinks
McClure, S. M., Li, J., Tomlin, D., Cypert, K. S., Montague, L. M., & Montague, P. R. (2004) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2004.09.019 · Cited by 1,347 · see citing works
The Receptors for Mammalian Sweet and Umami Taste
Zhao, G. Q., Zhang, Y., Hoon, M. A., Chandrashekar, J. V., Erlenbach, I., Ryba, N. J. P., & Zuker, C. S. (2003) · Cell · doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(03)00844-4 · Cited by 1,343 · see citing works
Comprehensive Human Genetic Maps: Individual and Sex-Specific Variation in Recombination
Broman, K. W., Murray, J. C., Sheffield, V. C., White, R. L., & Weber, J. L. (1998) · The American Journal of Human Genetics · doi:10.1086/302011 · Cited by 1,068 · see citing works
Quantification of Consumer Attitudes to Health and Hedonic Characteristics of Foods
ROININEN, K., LÄHTEENMÄKI, L., & TUORILA, H. (1999) · Appetite · doi:10.1006/appe.1999.0232 · Cited by 790 · see citing works
Self-citationDissociation of Neural Representation of Intensity and Affective Valuation in Human Gustation
Small, D. M., Gregory, M. D., Mak, Y. E., Gitelman, D. R., Mesulam, M. M., & Parrish, T. B. (2003) · Neuron · doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(03)00467-7 · Cited by 789 · see citing works
Detection of Sweet and Umami Taste in the Absence of Taste Receptor T1r3
Damak, S., Rong, M., Yasumatsu, K., Kokrashvili, Z., Varadarajan, V., Zou, S., Jiang, P., Ninomiya, Y., & Margolskee, R. F. (2003) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1087155 · Cited by 632 · see citing works
Green, B. G., Shaffer, G. S., & Gilmore, M. M. (1993) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/18.6.683 · Cited by 610 · see citing works
A LABELED AFFECTIVE MAGNITUDE (LAM) SCALE FOR ASSESSING FOOD LIKING/DISLIKING1
Schutz, H. G., & Cardello, A. V. (2001) · Journal of Sensory Studies · doi:10.1111/j.1745-459x.2001.tb00293.x · Cited by 336 · see citing works
The Psychobiology of Human Food Selection
Barker, L. M. (1982) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Genetic and environmental influences on eating behavior: the Swedish Young Male Twins Study
Tholin, S., Rasmussen, F., Tynelius, P., & Karlsson, J. (2005) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/81.3.564 · Cited by 315 · see citing works
Taste in acceptance of sugars by human infants.
Desor, J. A., Maller, O., & Turner, R. E. (1973) · Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0034906 · Cited by 306 · see citing works
Statistical Methods for Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci From a Dense Set of Markers
Dupuis, J., & Siegmund, D. (1999) · Genetics · doi:10.1093/genetics/151.1.373 · Cited by 299 · see citing works
Sweetener Preference of C57BL/6ByJ and 129P3/J Mice
Bachmanov, A. A. (2001) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/26.7.905 · Cited by 261 · see citing works
Roininen, K., Tuorila, H., Zandstra, E. H., de Graaf, C., Vehkalahti, K., Stubenitsky, K., & Mela, D. J. (2001) · Appetite · doi:10.1006/appe.2001.0414 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
Self-citationDietary experience and sweet taste preference in human infants.
Beauchamp, G. K., & Moran, M. (1982) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/s0195-6663(82)80007-x · Cited by 240 · see citing works
A paper screening test to assess genetic taste sensitivity to 6-n-propylthiouracil
Zhao, L., Kirkmeyer, S. V., & Tepper, B. J. (2003) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0031-9384(03)00057-x · Cited by 189 · see citing works
Reed, D. R., Li, S., Li, X., Huang, L., Tordoff, M. G., Starling-Roney, R., Taniguchi, K., West, D. B., Ohmen, J. D., Beauchamp, G. K., et al. (2004) · Journal of Neuroscience · doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1374-03.2004 · Cited by 175 · see citing works
A Susceptibility Locus for Migraine with Aura, on Chromosome 4q24
Wessman, M., Kallela, M., Kaunisto, M. A., Marttila, P., Sobel, E. M., Hartiala, J., Oswell, G., Leal, S. M., Papp, J. C., Hämäläinen, E., et al. (2002) · The American Journal of Human Genetics · doi:10.1086/339078 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Self-citationTaste perception of sodium chloride in relation to dietary intake of salt
Pangborn, R. M., & Pecore, S. D. (1982) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/35.3.510 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Drayna, D. T., Coon, H. H., Kim, U., Elsner, T., Cromer, K., Otterud, B., Baird, L. M., Peiffer, A. P., & Leppert, M. (2003) · Human Genetics · doi:10.1007/s00439-003-0911-y · Cited by 149 · see citing works
Effects of body weight and food intake on pleasantness ratings for a sweet stimulus
Thompson, D. A., MOSKOWITZ, H. R., & Campbell, R. G. (1976) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/jappl.1976.41.1.77 · Cited by 140 · see citing works
Sucrose and Monosodium Glutamate Taste Thresholds and Discrimination Ability of T1R3 Knockout Mice
Delay, E. R., Hernandez, N., Bromley, K., et al. (2006) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/bjj039 · Cited by 122 · see citing works
Heritability and Genetic Covariation of Sensitivity to PROP, SOA, Quinine HCl, and Caffeine
Hansen, J. L. (2006) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/bjj044 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Osmophobia and Taste Abnormality in Migraineurs: A Tertiary Care Study
Kelman, L. (2004) · Headache The Journal of Head and Face Pain · doi:10.1111/j.1526-4610.2004.04197.x · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Holt, S., Cobiac, L., Beaumont-Smith, N. E., Easton, K., & Best, D. J. (2000) · Food Quality and Preference · doi:10.1016/s0950-3293(99)00076-2 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Relationships Between Food Preferences and Food Acceptance Ratings
Cardello, A. V., & Maller, O. (1982) · Journal of Food Science · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1982.tb04981.x · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Relationships between and among selected measures of sweet-taste preference and dietary intake
Mattes, R. D., & Mela, D. J. (1986) · Chemical Senses · doi:10.1093/chemse/11.4.523 · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Conner, M. T., & Booth, D. (1988) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/s0195-6663(88)80030-8 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Effects of caloric deprivation and satiety on sensitivity of the gustatory system
Zverev, Y. (2004) · BMC Neuroscience · doi:10.1186/1471-2202-5-5 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
Collaku, A., Rankinen, T., Rice, T., Leon, A. S., Rao, D., Skinner, J. S., Wilmore, J. H., & Bouchard, C. (2004) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/79.5.881 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
A twin study examining the genetic influence on food selection.
Krondl, M. M., Coleman, P. A., Wade, J. F., & Milner, J. (1983) · PubMed · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Aging is associated with increased Weber ratios
Gilmore, M. M., & Murphy, C. (1989) · Perception & Psychophysics · doi:10.3758/bf03208152 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Cai, G., Cole, S. A., Bastarrachea, R. A., MacCluer, J. W., Blangero, J., & Comuzzie, A. G. (2004) · American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/80.5.1410 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Sclafani, A. J. (2006) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.01.017 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Three sweet receptor genes are clustered in human Chromosome 1
Liao, J., & Schultz, P. G. (2003) · Mammalian Genome · doi:10.1007/s00335-002-2233-0 · Cited by 60 · see citing works
Genes, the environment and the control of food intake
de Castro, J. M. (2004) · British Journal Of Nutrition · doi:10.1079/bjn20041143 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
A male-specific quantitative trait locus on 1p21 controlling human stature
Sammalisto, S., Hiekkalinna, T., Suviolahti, E., et al. (2005) · Journal of Medical Genetics · doi:10.1136/jmg.2005.031278 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Self-citationTaste Thresholds in Twins and Siblings
Kaplan, A., Fischer, R., Karras, A., et al. (1967) · Acta geneticae medicae et gemellologiae · doi:10.1017/s112096230001307x · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Gangwisch, J. E., Hale, L., Garcia, L., Malaspina, D., Opler, M. G., Payne, M. E., Rossom, R. C., & Lane, D. (2015) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.3945/ajcn.114.103846 · Cited by 278 · see citing works
Keskitalo, K., Tuorila, H., Spector, T. D., Cherkas, L. F., Knaapila, A., Kaprio, J., Silventoinen, K., & Perola, M. (2008) · The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition · doi:10.1093/ajcn/88.2.263 · Cited by 223 · see citing works
Self-citationFunctionality of sugars in foods and health
Clemens, R. A., Jones, J. M., Kern, M., Lee, S., Mayhew, E. J., Slavin, J. L., & Zivanovic, S. (2016) · Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety · doi:10.1111/1541-4337.12194 · Cited by 224 · see citing works
CARRILLO, E., VARELA, P., SALVADOR, A., & FISZMAN, S. (2011) · Journal of Sensory Studies · doi:10.1111/j.1745-459x.2010.00325.x · Cited by 181 · see citing works
The exercise–affect–adherence pathway: an evolutionary perspective
Lee, H. H., Emerson, J. A., & Williams, D. M. (2016) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01285 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
Wang, Q. J., Mielby, L. A., Junge, J. Y., Bertelsen, A. S., Kidmose, U., Spence, C., & Byrne, D. V. (2019) · Foods · doi:10.3390/foods8060211 · Cited by 168 · see citing works
“Moreover, sweet liking has been demonstrated to be partly inherited [207] and linked with alcoholism [208].”
BackgroundOral sensory phenotype identifies level of sugar and fat required for maximal liking.
Hayes, J. E., & Duffy, V. B. (2008) · Physiology & Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2008.04.023 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Perceiving the World Through Group-Colored Glasses: A Perceptual Model of Intergroup Relations
Xiao, Y. J., Coppin, G., & Van Bavel, J. J. (2016) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2016.1199221 · Cited by 121 · see citing works
Heritability of Caries Scores, Trajectories, and Disease Subtypes
Haworth, S., Esberg, A., Lif Holgerson, P., Kuja-Halkola, R., Timpson, N. J., Magnusson, P. K. E., Franks, P. W., & Johansson, I. (2020) · Journal of Dental Research · doi:10.1177/0022034519897910 · Cited by 38 · see citing works
Intact hedonic responses to sweet tastes in autism spectrum disorder
Damiano, C. R., Aloi, J., Burrus, C., Garbutt, J. C., Kampov-Polevoy, A. B., & Dichter, G. S. (2014) · Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2013.12.003 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
- Authors
- Keskitalo, K., Knaapila, A., Kallela, M., Palotie, A., Wessman, M., Sammalisto, S., Peltonen, L., Tuorila, H., & Perola, M.
- Affiliations
- Broad Institute (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tuorila, Hely
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2007-07
- Volume
- 86
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 55-63
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2144283392
- Cited by
- 195
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2026: 7 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 13 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 13.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01 NS37675, R01NS037675)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Mapping and Diversity in Plants and Animals
- Keywords
- sweet taste preference, heritability, sweets consumption, chromosome 16p11.2, genetic linkage, PROP sensitivity, taste perception
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16, DNA, Female, Food Preferences, Genotype, Humans, Lod Score, Male, Middle Aged, Propylthiouracil, Taste, Test Anxiety Scale, Microsatellite Repeats, Quantitative Trait Loci
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review