Oro-sensory perception of dietary lipids and obesity.

The gustation is a dynamic system able to rapid physiological adaptations in response to on-going environmental changes that characterize our feed (rhythm, quality, quantity). Based on the modulation of taste sensitivity thresholds, this homeostatic system contributes to build the feeding behavior by driving the food choices. Therefore, a dysfunction of this regulatory system might impact on dietary habits and thus, ultimately, on health. Consistent with this assumption, recent data report that a diet-induced obesity is associated both with a dysfunction of the oral fat detection system and a preferential consumption of fat-rich diets in rats and mice. In humans, a study from our laboratory indicates that obese subjects, in which the oro-sensory detection of lipids is defective, over-consume fatty foods. These murine and human data raise a fundamental question: what are the relationships between dietary lipids, obesity and taste disorders? This aim of this mini-review is to explore this issue in the light of our current knowledge.