Key points from article :
Whether you crave salty dishes or snack on fruit, your genes may influence the food choices you make.
Researchers have previously identified 814 regions in the human genome that are associated with a person’s dietary intake.
Team wanted to better understand if these regions directly or indirectly influence a person’s food choices.
Phenome-wide association study involves taking a single genetic variant and scanning for traits – such as taste preferences, eating habits and health conditions.
Each region was scanned for more than 4000 traits, using data from around 500,000 participants of the UK Biobank study.
Identified 481 regions in the genome that seem to directly affect dietary intake through flavour perceptions and preferences.
Some of the foods and drinks that are most affected by these genes include salt, water, fish, alcohol and fruit.
“Identifying how different people experience different flavours may be the key to personalised nutrition,” - Joanne Cole, co-researcher of the study.
Study by University of Colorado presented at Nutrition 2023.
