A study by Tokyo Medical and Dental University reveals that offspring exposed to high-fat diets during gestation and early life exhibit a preference for salty tastes, possibly due to increased AT1 protein and gene expression in taste buds, potentially affecting obesity and diet-related health issues.
In other words, mothers who eat a high-fat diet are more likely to feed their children with similar fatty foods. The consequences of exposing offspring to high levels of fat both during pregnancy and early life is what the researchers fromThe researchers used a rat model to investigate the effect on taste preference of a two-generational exposure to a high-fat diet. Pregnant and lactating females were fed a high-fat diet, while a control group received a standard diet.
Young rats from the high-fat diet groups gained more weight and consumed more energy than their counterparts from the standard diet groups. “We wondered if the different diets had affected the taste preferences of the rats,” explains Takashi Ono, senior author. “It is well established that taste impacts food intake. If something tastes good, the brain reward circuits are activated, and you will likely eat more of it.