Relationship between Taste and Olfactory Function and BMI in Normal-Weight, Healthy Subjects and Patients with Obesity

A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2024 | Viewed by 1431

Special Issue Editors

Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, CA, Italy
Interests: taste perception and individual differences; PROP tasting; taste genetics; taste modulation; electrophysiological recordings from human tongue; taste and health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
Interests: taste perception; olfactory perception; insect-host plant interaction; electrophysiological recordings; chemosensory input and behavioral output; food choices and food intake; transduction mechanisms of chemosensory systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The olfactory and taste systems play an important role in controlling food intake and meal size, influencing body weight and energy balance. Variations in taste and olfactory sensitivities can be due to several factors (e.g., genetic, environmental, or behavioral) which can therefore be considered risk factors for developing obesity. Obesity is a severe health problem linked to an increased risk of comorbidity and mortality, and its etiopathogenesis is correlated with eating habits characterized by stronger preferences for energy-dense foods, such as fats and sweets rather than healthier, but less palatable foods such as fruits and vegetables. Taste and olfaction are important determinants driving food preferences, as they are associated with reward-driven hedonic eating. Metabolic disorders linked to obesity (e.g., dysglycemia, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndrome) can also contribute to individual differences in sensory perception.

Despite recent progress, knowledge gaps remain on how chemosensory perception contributes to the onset of obesity and how obesity may affect taste and olfactory sensitivities. Obtaining a critical comprehension of these aspects could help us to understand how to modulate food preferences and overeating.  For this Special Issue, entitled ‘Relationship Between Taste and Olfactory Function and BMI in Normal-Weight, Healthy Subjects and Patients with Obesity’, we invite the submission of original research articles and comprehensive reviews that focus on taste and olfactory perception, food preferences, and their implications in body mass index.

Dr. Melania Melis
Dr. Giorgia Sollai
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • taste
  • smell
  • eating behavior
  • obesity
  • taste preferences
  • sensory nutrition
  • genetic variations in taste/smell
  • taste and smell changes related to adiposity/obesity/pathology

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2822 KiB  
Article
Association among Olfactory Function, Lifestyle and BMI in Female and Male Elderly Subjects: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Giorgia Sollai and Roberto Crnjar
Nutrients 2023, 15(11), 2492; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15112492 - 26 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1096
Abstract
Physical activities seem to counteract the age-related physiological decline of the olfactory function which, influencing the food choices and eating behavior, can affect the body weight of individuals. The main purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationships between olfactory function [...] Read more.
Physical activities seem to counteract the age-related physiological decline of the olfactory function which, influencing the food choices and eating behavior, can affect the body weight of individuals. The main purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the relationships between olfactory function and BMI in female and male Elderly Subjects (ES), according to the level of their lifestyle activities in physical, cognitive, and social terms. Considering weekly physical activities, the adult elderlies who decided to participate in this study were divided into active ES (n = 65) and non-active ES (n = 68). Assessment of weekly activities and olfactory function were performed by means of face-to-face interviews and the “Sniffin’ Sticks” battery test, respectively. The results show that ES who are overweight and with a non-active lifestyle achieved lower TDI olfactory scores than normal weight ES and those classified as active. Hyposmic and non-active ES showed a higher BMI than normosmic and active ES. Sex-related differences, with females performing better than males, were evident in the presence of at least one of the following conditions: non-activity, hyposmia, or overweight. Inverse correlations were found between BMI and TDI olfactory score and between BMI and hours/week spent on physical activities, both when subjects were considered all together and when they were divided into females and males. These findings suggest that a higher BMI is related to the olfactory dysfunction linked to active or non-active lifestyle and the sex-related differences, and the condition of hyposmia is related to the increase in body weight due to lifestyle and sex differences. Given that the relationship between BMI and non-exercise physical activities is comparable to that between BMI and exercise physical activities, and this may be of particular importance for ES with limited mobility. Full article
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