Connections between taste-related risk factors, taste functioning, and adiposity were seen in a laboratory-based study involving 407 women.

Participants reported histories of tonsillectomy, multiple ear infections, and head trauma. They were evaluated for taste functioning and taste papillae density. One-fourth had elevated waist circumferences, and 4 in every 10 were overweight or obese. Investigators looked at the link between taste functioning and weight. Among the results:

• High central adiposity was explained directly by history of tonsillectomy and multiple ear infections.
• It was also explained by lower tongue-tip taste function and lower papillae density.
• Taste alteration risk factors were significantly linked with lower taste functioning; taste mediated the association between head trauma and reduced adiposity.