Insights into the impact of genetic variation in bitter taste sensitivity on young children’s acceptance of vegetables and body mass index: an update until 2010

Vegetable consumption by young children does not meet national recommendations in either the United States or in Europe due in part to the bitter taste of vegetables. Cruciferous vegetables contain natural bitter-tasting substances that share the same chemical structure as phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) and its chemical derivative 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP). The degree to which the bitter taste from PTC/PROP is perceived is genetically determined and individual food likes are associated with this genetic trait, especially in children. The ability to taste calcium (Ca) influences the ability to taste the bitterness of vegetables in adults but this influence has not yet been studied in young children. Therefore, a critical analysis of the impact of young children’s PTC/PROP taster status on their vegetable acceptance is required. Furthermore, evidence that young children typically develop obesity because of their high consumption of high calorie content foods instead of vegetables requires critical analysis of the same impact on young children’s body mass index (BMI). This two-fold analysis found conflicting results in studies that have examined ad hoc the relationship between PTC/PROP taste sensitivity and young children’s vegetable acceptance and BMI. Genetic variation in the ability of young children to taste Ca might modulate the relationship between PTC/PROP taste sensitivity and vegetable acceptance in young children while socioeconomic status (SES) might modulate the relationship between PTC/PROP taste sensitivity and BMI. Thus, further research on these possible modulations is recommended. Abbreviations: AAI: Alanine, Alanine and Isoleucine; AAV: Alanine, Alanine and Valine; AVI: Alanine, Valine and Isoleucine; BMI: Body Mass Index; C: Calcium; CD36: Cluster of Differentiation 36; Gpcrs: G-Protein Coupled Receptors; PAV: Proline, Alenine and Valine; PKD1L3: Polycystic Kidney Disease 1-Like 3; PKD2L1: Polycystic Kidney Disease 2-Like 1; PRO: 6-N-Propylthiouracil; PTC: Phenylthiocarbamide; PVI: Proline, Valine and Isoleucine; SES: Socio Economic Status; TAS2R38: Taste Receptor 2 Member 38; TAS1R3: Taste Receptor 1 Member 3