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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Individual characteristics associated with fat liking

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Introduction: Various studies have shown that sensory liking influences dietary behaviors and that individual characteristics, such as socio-demographic or psychological factors, are related to dietary intake and weight status. However, little is known about individual profiles associated with fat liking. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between liking for fat sensation and socio-demographic, economic, psychological, lifestyle and health characteristics in a large sample of adults. Method / Design: Individual factors and liking scores were collected using validated questionnaires from 37,181 French adults participating in the NutriNet-Santé study, a large web-based cohort. The associations between individual characteristics and fat liking were assessed by multivariable multinomial logistic regression models. Results: In both genders, older individuals were less likely to have a high fat liking (ORmen=0.10 [0.08,0.13]; ORwomen=0.10 [0.08,0.12]) and subjects belonging to low-occupational categories were more likely to prefer fat (ORmen=1.36 [1.14,1.63]; ORwomen=1.32 [1.18,1.47]). Current smokers (ORmen=1.46 [1.17,1.81]; ORwomen=1.30 [1.16,1.45]) and heavy drinkers (ORmen=1.73 [1.39,2.15]; ORwomen=1.67 [1.43,1.94]) were also more likely to have a high liking for fat sensation. Regarding psychological characteristics, highly cognitive restrainers were less likely to have a high fat liking (ORmen=0.37 [0.31,0.44]; ORwomen=0.41 [0.37,0.45]) whereas uncontrolled eaters (ORmen=4.15 [3.50,4.92]; ORwomen=4.19 [3.74,4.70]) and emotional eaters (ORwomen=1.37 [1.18,1.58]) were more likely to prefer fat. Finally, obese subjects (ORmen=1.96 [1.54,2.49]; ORwomen=1.97 [1.72,2.27]), pregnant women (ORwomen=1.86 [1.23,2.82]) and menopausal women (ORwomen=1.63 [1.22,2.17]) were more likely to have a high fat liking, compared to those with low liking. Conclusions: Overall fat liking is mostly associated with unhealthy lifestyle characteristics such as smoking, alcohol, dieting, obesity, etc. Further research is needed to study the influence of individual factors and sensory liking on dietary intake and weight status.