A common report is that sweets taste too sweet and protein supplements taste too strong after surgery. This study may explain why. Researchers found that obese mice have fewer taste cells, and those that they do have do not respond normally to sweets.
The body’s mechanisms to maintain the extra weight are powerful. Since taste plays a role in regulating appetite, this is just one more reason why is it next to impossible to lose weight once you have gained it. Once obese, you may need to eat more to get satisfaction from foods.
This study also brings up more questions specifically for the weight loss surgery population—if the perception of tastes changes right after surgery, the change must be due to something other than weight loss (since that hasn’t happened yet). Hope they commission a study for weight loss surgery patients specifically, so we can get those protein supplements to taste great to everyone.
