A new randomized controlled study found that consuming more sweet foods does not increase a person's preference for sweet tastes.

Researchers found that after 6 months of diets with varying amounts of sweet foods, participants' preferences for sweetness remained the same, regardless of the amount of sweet foods they consumed.

Lead researcher Kees de Graaf, PhD, honorary professor of sensory science and food behavior at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, explained that the study also found no link between diets with more or less sweet foods and changes in energy intake or body weight.

This challenges the widespread belief that sweet foods cause people to consume more calories.

Most previous studies on this topic have been short-term, often lasting only one day, and have not provided clear answers to the question of whether sweet preferences can change over time.

To fill this gap, the researchers developed a six-month study that strictly followed a protocol that was pre-registered and approved by an ethics committee. They used specially developed foods and beverages to measure sweet taste preferences without including them in the intervention diets themselves.

The study involved 180 people, divided into three groups of about 60 people each. One group's diet consisted mainly of sweet foods, another group's diet contained fewer sweet foods, and the third group had a mixed diet.

Every two weeks, participants received packages of food and beverages covering about half of their daily intake, along with sample menus. They could eat as much as they wanted of the foods provided.

Sweet foods included items such as jam, milk chocolate, sweetened dairy products, and beverages with added sugar. Less sweet options included ham, cheese, peanut butter, hummus, salted popcorn, and sparkling water.

The nutritional composition of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins was the same for all groups, and participants were randomly assigned to balance gender, age, and body weight.

The researchers measured sweet taste preferences before the start of the diet, twice during the diet, immediately after its completion, and again one and four months after the participants stopped the intervention. They also tracked total calorie intake, macronutrients, eating habits, body weight, body composition, and blood markers associated with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The results showed that reducing the consumption of sweet foods did not decrease the preference for sweet foods, and increasing it did not increase it.

There were no changes in the perception of sweet taste, food choices, energy intake, body weight, or health biomarkers in any of the groups. During follow-up, participants naturally returned to their baseline levels of sweet consumption.

De Graaf noted that this is one of the first studies to adjust sweetness across the entire diet in a way that reflects real-life eating habits. The results suggest that avoiding sweet foods to prevent an increased preference for sweetness is unnecessary.

The team now hopes to replicate the study with children, whose taste preferences and eating habits may be more adaptable. | BGNES