Abstract

The dramatic increase in the prevalence and incidence of obesity seems to suggest that environmental factors and lifestyle changes are contributing significantly to the epidemic trend of this pathology. In humans, inter-individual differences in the thresholds of preference of sweet taste have been reported, which could affect habitual sugar intake, and therefore the nutritional status. Objective: The present study seeks to determine the relationship between nutritional status and the preference of sweet taste in the population of a higher education establishment. Method: Sample was constituted by students, officials and teachers between 18 and 60 years, belonging to the Universidad Mayor, Temuco. To determine the perception of the sweet taste, an organoleptic test was used that measures the degree of satisfaction with the sweet solution, along with this, weight and height measurements were made to determine the Body Mass Index. Results: Final sample comprised 319 people, of which 30.1% were men and 69.9% women. No significant differences were observed in the preference for solutions with a higher concentration of sucrose according to nutritional status. However, a predictive model developed showed that men prefer the solutions with the highest concentration of sugar regardless of age and nutritional status. Conclusions: It is necessary to develop new studies to clarify whether the preference for sweet taste favors the development of obesity and overweight, or if it is the nutritional composition of processed or ultraprocessed foods, which is having a greater negative impact on the nutritional status of the population.