Role of Taste Receptor Gene Variations (SNPs) on Diet Quality and Dietary Intake in Male and Female Adolescents

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The prevalence of pediatric obesity has increased over the past 40 years and the prevalence in 6 to 19 years old is currently over 20%. This increase in obesity is predicted to negatively impact health and result in multiple obesity-related comorbidities in adulthood. Taste and food preferences are complex, and understanding the potential driving factors is essential, particularly due to the rise in obesity and obesity-related illnesses worldwide. Previous studies assessing taste preference and eating patterns have demonstrated an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at taste receptor genes and fat taste sensitivity (CD36), sweet taste preference (TAS1R2), and bitter taste aversion (TAS2R38). Therefore, the goal of the current study was to investigate the intersection of genotype (rs1761667 of CD36, rs35874116 of TAS1R2 and rs713598 of TAS2R38) and phenotypic diet intake and quality in female and male adolescents. Genotype was determined by allelic discrimination assay in children 10-16 years of age (females, n=167 and males, n=145) enrolled in the Translational Investigation of Growth and Everyday Routines in Kids (TIGER Kids) Study. Anthropometrics and 24-hour dietary recalls were conducted for each participant and Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores, a measure of diet quality (lower scores suggest lower diet quality), were calculated. The effect of sex and genetic variation was assessed using a two-way ANOVA. Based on allelic discrimination assays, the expression rates of CD36 AA/AG/GG, TAS1R2 TT/CT/CC and TAS2R38 CC/CG/GG did not differ between females and males. Preliminary results indicate that adolescents with CD36 GG and TAS2R38 CG have higher BMI percentiles compared to other genotypes ( p<.05). The TAS2R38 genotype was associated with HEI-sodium, HEI-total protein, and HEI-whole grain ( p<.05). Adolescents with TAS2R38 CC had the lowest HEI-sodium and HEI-total protein scores and adolescents with TAS2R38 CG had the lowest HEI-whole grain scores. An interaction between sex and TAS2R38 genotype was detected for HEI-fatty acids and HEI-total score ( p<.05). Males with TAS2R38 CG had the lowest HEI-fatty acids and HEI-total scores, females with TAS2R38 GG had the lowest HEI-fatty acids score and females with TAS2R38 CG had the lowest HEI-total score. CD36 and TAS1R2 genotypes were associated with HEI-dairy, with adolescents with CD36 CG and those with TAS1R2 CT having the lowest scores ( p<.05). The TAS1R2 genotype was associated with HEI-fatty acids, with adolescents with TAS1R2 TT having the lowest score ( p<.05). Fat and sugar intake (g) were positively correlated in SNPs associated with altered fat perception ( CD36 AA) in males, and sugar intake ( TAS1R2 TT) and overall energy intake ( TAS2R39 CC) in females ( p<.05). In males and females with the CD36 GG genotype, fat intake was positively correlated with sugar intake ( p<.05), supporting the finding of a higher BMI percentile in adolescents with this genotype. Overall, the results from these analyses support the intersection between sex and genetic variation on HEI and suggest that SNPs in taste receptor genes differentially affect diet quality in adolescent males and females. Further understanding of the role of taste receptor SNPs on food choices and diet quality is needed to better tailor dietary interventions in the pediatric population. USDA 3092-51000-056-04A. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.