A recent six-month trial conducted by researchers at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands and Bournemouth University in the UK has shed light on the relationship between sweet-tasting foods and our preference for sweetness. The study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that changing the amount of sweet-tasting food people eat does not alter how much they enjoy sweetness.

The researchers recruited 180 participants and divided them into three groups. One group ate a diet containing a high amount of sweet-tasting food, another ate a diet with a low amount, and the third followed a diet with an average level of sweetness. The sweet taste in the foods came from several sources, including sugar, naturally occurring sweetness, and low-calorie sweeteners.

The researchers also tracked body weight and collected blood and urine samples to look for changes in markers associated with diabetes risk and cardiovascular health. At the end of the six-month trial, the researchers found no significant differences among the three groups in any of the measures they examined. People who ate more sweet-tasting foods did not appear to develop a stronger preference for sweetness, while those who ate fewer sweet foods did not appear to lose their taste for it.

The findings raise questions about public health advice that encourages people to reduce sweet-tasting foods as a way to combat overweight and obesity. The researchers argue that the more important targets may be sugar intake and energy-dense foods rather than sweetness itself.