Skip to main content

Sweetness and Obesity

  • Conference paper
Sweetness

Part of the book series: ILSI Human Nutrition Reviews ((ILSI HUMAN))

Abstract

Increased prevalence of obesity in the United States has been paralleled by increased consumption of refined sugars and fat (Drewnowski et al. 1982b; Page and Friend 1978). According to USDA estimates for 1985, the average American consumed a total of 127.4 lb. (57.8 kg) of nutritive sweeteners, including 67.5 lb. (30.6 kg) of sucrose, consumed chiefly in processed foods and beverages. There is a popular belief that sugar is uniquely fattening. Overindulgence in soft drinks, sweets, and desserts has long been thought to be a causal factor in the development of obesity, adult-onset diabetes, and coronary heart disease (Yudkin 1966). To the obese, it is claimed, many of the most attractive, almost irresistible foods are those that are rich in carbohydrates, especially sugar (Yudkin 1983).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Beauchamp GN, Moran M (1982) Dietary experience and sweet taste preference in human infants. Appetite 3: 134–159

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaudoin R, Mayer J (1953) Food intakes of obese and non-obese women. J Am Diet Assoc 29: 29–33

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bierman EL (1979) Carbohydrates, sucrose, and human disease. Am J Clin Nutr 32: 2712–2722

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birch LL (1979) Preschool children’s food preferences and consumption patterns. J Nutr Educ 11: 189–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Cabanac M (1971) Physiological role of pleasure. Science 173: 1103–1107

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cabanac M, Duclaux R (1970) Obesity: absence of satiety aversion to sucrose. Science 168: 496–497

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cabanac M, Duclaux R (1973) Alliesthesie olfacto-gustative et prise alimentaire chez l’homme. J Physiol (Paris) 66: 113–135

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll MD, Abraham S, Dresser CM (1983) Dietary intake source data: United States 1976–80 Vital and Health Statistics II, no. 231. Publ PHS 83–1681, National Center for Health Statistics, US Govt Printing Office, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Desor JA, Maller O, Turner RE (1973) Taste in acceptance of sugars by human infants J. Comp Physiol Psychol 84: 496–500

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Drewnowski A (1983) Cognitive structure in obesity and dieting. In: Greenwood MRC (ed) Obesity: contemporary issues in clinical nutrition. Churchill Livingstone, New York, pp 87–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Drewnowski A (1985) Food perceptions and preferences of obese adults: a multidimensional approach. Int J Obes 9: 201–212

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Drewnowski A, Greenwood MRC (1983) Cream and sugar: human preferences for high-fat foods. Physiol Behav 30: 629–633

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Drewnowski A, Grinker JA, Hirsch J (1982a) Obesity and flavor perception: multidimensional scaling of soft drinks. Appetite 3: 361–368

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Drewnowski A, Gruen R, Grinker JA (1982b) Carbohydrates, sweet taste and obesity: changing consumption patterns and health implications. In: Lineback DR, Inglett GE (eds) Basic symposium on food carbohydrates. AVI, New York, pp 153–169

    Google Scholar 

  • Drewnowski A, Brunzell, JD, Sande K, Iverius PH, Greenwood MRC (1985) Sweet tooth reconsidered: taste responsiveness in human obesity. Physiol Behav 35: 617–622

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Drewnowski A, Halmi KA, Pierce B, Gibbs J, Smith GP (to be published) Taste and eating disorders.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engen T, Lipsitt LP, Robinson DO (1978) The human newborn’s sucking behavior for sweet fluids as a function of birthweight and maternal weight. Infant Behav Dev 1: 118–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Enns MP, Van Itallie TB, Grinker JA (1979) Contributions of age, sex, and degree of fatness on preferences and magnitude estimations for sucrose in humans. Physiol Behav 22: 999–1003

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fomon SJ, Ziegler EE, Nelson SE, Edwards BB (1983) Sweetness of diet and food consumption by infants. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 173: 190–193

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frijters JER (1983) Sensory qualities, palatability of food and overweight. In: Williams AA, Atkin RK (eds) Sensory quality in foods and beverages: definition, measurements and control. Ellis Horwood, Chichester, pp 431–447

    Google Scholar 

  • Frijters JER, Rasmussen-Conrad EL (1982) Sensory discrimination, intensity perception, and affective judgment of sucrose-sweetness in the overweight. J Gen Psychol 107: 233–247

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garfinkel PE, Moldofsky H, Garner DM (1979) The stability of perceptual disturbances in anorexia nervosa. Psychol Med 9: 703–708

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garn SM, Solomon MA, Cole PE (1980) Sugar-food intake of obese and lean adolescents. Ecol Food Nutr 9: 219–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gates JC, Huenemann RL, Brand RJ (1975) Food choices of obese and non-obese persons. Am J Diet Assoc 67: 339–343

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Geiselman PJ, Novin D (1982) The role of carbohydrates in appetite, hunger and obesity. Appetite 3: 203–223

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales ER (1983) Studies show the obese may prefer fat to sweets. JAMA 250: 579–580

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grey N, Kipnis DM (1971) Effect of diet composition on the hyperinsulinemia of obesity. N Engl J Med 285: 827–831

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grinker J (1978) Obesity and sweet taste. Am J Clin Nutr 31: 1078–1087

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grinker JA, Hirsch J (1972) Metabolic and behavioral correlates of obesity. In: Physiology, emotion and psychosomatic illness. Ciba Foundation Symposium 8, ASP, Amsterdam, pp 349–374

    Google Scholar 

  • Grinker J, Hirsch J, Smith DV (1972) Taste sensitivity and susceptibility to external influence in obese and normal weight subjects. J Pers Soc Psychol 22: 320–325

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grinker JA, Price J, Greenwood MRC (1976) Studies of taste in childhood obesity. In: Novin D, Wyrwicka W, Bray GA (eds) Hunger: basic mechanisms and clinical implications. Raven Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Grinker JA, Marisak K, Fisher R (1980) Sweet intake as a function of infant and maternal size. In: van der Starre H (ed) Olfaction and taste, VII. IRL Press, London, pp 331–334

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson WG, Keane TM, Bonar JR, Downey C (1979) Hedonic ratings of sucrose solutions: effects of body weight, weight loss and dietary restriction. Addict Behav 4: 231–236

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kanarek RB, Hirsch E (1977) Dietary induced overeating in experimental animals. Fed Proc 36: 154–158

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keen, H, Thomas BJ, Jarrett RJ, Fuller JH (1979) Nutrient intake, adiposity and diabetes in man. Br Med J I: 655–658

    Google Scholar 

  • Kramer TH, Gold RM (1980) Facilitation of hypothalamic obesity by greasy diets: palatability vs. lipid content. Physiol Behav 24: 151–156

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krantzler NJ, Mullen BJ, Comstock EM et al. (1982) Methods of food intake assessment: an annotated bibliography. J Nutr Educ 14: 108–119

    Google Scholar 

  • Lansky D, Brownell KD (1982) Estimates of food quantity and calories: errors in self-report among obese patients. Am J Clin Nutr 35: 727–732

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm R, O’Neil PM, Hirsch AA, Currey HS, Moskowitz G (1980) Taste hedonics and thresholds in obesity. Int J Obes 4: 203–212

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Milstein RM (1980) Responsiveness in newborn infants of overweight and normal-weight parents. Appetite 1: 51–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan KJ, Johnson SR, Stampley GL (1983) Children’s frequency of eating, total sugar intake and weight/height stature. Nutr Res 3: 635–652

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moskowitz HR (1978) Taste and food technology: acceptability, aesthetics and preference. In: Carterette EC, Friedman MP (eds) Handbook of perception, vol VIA. Academic Press, New York, pp 157–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Moskowitz, HR, Kluter RA, Westerling J, Jacobs HL (1974) Sugar sweetness and pleasantness: evidence for different psychophysical laws. Science 184: 583–585

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Page L, Friend B (1978) The changing United States diet. Bioscience 28: 192–197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pangborn RM (1970) Individual variation in affective responses to taste stimuli. Psychon Sci 21: 125–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Pangborn RM (1981) Individuality in responses to sensory stimuli. In: Solms J, Hall RL (eds) Criteria of food acceptance: how a man chooses what he eats. Foster, Zurich, pp 177–219

    Google Scholar 

  • Pangborn, RM, Leonard S (1958) Factors influencing consumer opinion of canned Bartlett pears. Food Technol 12: 284–290

    Google Scholar 

  • Pangborn RM, Simone M (1958) Body size and sweetness preference. J Am Diet Assoc 34: 924–928

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pangborn RM, Simone, M Nickerson TA (1957) The influence of sugar in ice cream. I. Consumer preference for vanilla ice cream. Food Technol 11: 679–682

    Google Scholar 

  • Peryam DR, Pilgrim PJ (1957) Hedonic scale method for measuring food preference. Food Technol 11: 9–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfaffmann C (1961) The sensory and motivating properties of the sense of taste. In: Jone MR (ed) Nebraska symposium on motivation. University of Nebraska Press, Nebraska, pp 71–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodin J (1975) Effects of obesity and set point on taste responsiveness and ingestion in humans. J Comp Physiol Psychol 89: 1003–1009

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rodin J, Moskowitz HR, Bray GA (1976) Relationship between obesity, weight loss and taste responsiveness. Physiol Behav 17: 391–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rolls BJ, Rowe EA, Sweeney K (1981) Sensory specific satiety in man. Physiol Behav 27: 137–142

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schemmel R, Mickelsen O, Gill JL (1970) Dietary obesity in rats: body weight and fat accretion in seven strains of rats. J Nutr 100: 1041–1048

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schiffman SS, Musante G, Conger J (1979) Application of multidimensional scaling to ratings of foods for obese and normal weight individuals. Physiol Behav 23: 1–9

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sclafani A (1982) Animal models of obesity. Paper presented at the NIH Workshop on the classification of obesities. Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Sclafani A, Springer D (1976) Dietary obesity in normal adult rats: similarities to hypothalamic and human obesity syndromes. Physiol Behav 17: 461–471

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shrager EE, Drewnowski A, Greenwood MRC, Lipsky C, Starer Y (1984) Hedonic responses to mixtures of sucrose and fat in a solid food unit (SFU). Paper presented at Eastern Psychological Association Meeting, Baltimore MD

    Google Scholar 

  • Spitzer L, Rodin J (1981) Human eating behavior: a critical review of studies in normal weight and overweight individuals. Appetite 2: 293–329

    Google Scholar 

  • Ten-State Nutrition Survey 1968–70 (1972) DHEW Publ No HSM 72–8131, US Government Printing Office, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson DA, Moskowitz HR, Campbell R (1976) Effects of body weight and food intake on pleasantness ratings for a sweet stimulus. J Appl Psychol 41: 77–83

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Underwood PJ, Belton E, Hume P (1972) Aversion to sucrose in obesity. Proc Nutr Soc 32: 93a–94a

    Google Scholar 

  • Valdes RM, Roessler EB (1956) Consumer survey on the dessert quality of canned apricots. Food Technol 10: 481–486

    Google Scholar 

  • Vlitos AJ (1983) Sugar and obesity. Lancet, 17 September 1983

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker ARP (1977) Sugar intake and diabetes mellitus. S Afr Med J 51: 842–851

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weiffenbach JM (ed) (1977) Taste and development: the genesis of sweet preference. US Government Printing Office, Bethesda MD

    Google Scholar 

  • West KM (1978) Factors associated with occurrence of diabetes. In: Epidemiology of diabetes and its vascular lesions. Elsevier, New York, pp 191–283

    Google Scholar 

  • Witherly SA, Pangborn RM, Stern J (1980) Gustatory responses and eating duration of obese and lean adults. Appetite 1: 53–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Wooley OW, Wooley SC, Dunham RB (1972) Calories and sweet taste: effects on sucrose preference in the obese and non-obese. Physiol Behav 79: 765–768

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yudkin J (1966) Dietetic aspects of atherosclerosis. Angiology 17: 127–132

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yudkin J (1983) Energy requirements and obesity. Lancet, 27 August 1983

    Google Scholar 

Commentary Reference

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1987 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this paper

Cite this paper

Drewnowski, A. (1987). Sweetness and Obesity. In: Dobbing, J. (eds) Sweetness. ILSI Human Nutrition Reviews. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1429-1_12

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1429-1_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4471-1431-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-1429-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics