Study Indicates "Sweet Craves" Aren't Real
Groundbreaking study reveals that your love for sweetness might not be as changeable as diet culture claims.
Have you ever worried that enjoying a sweet
treat today will make you crave even more sugar tomorrow? It's a common
belief that eating sweet foods trains your palate to want more
sweetness—a phenomenon often called having a "sweet tooth." But what if
this long-held assumption isn't true?
A groundbreaking new study challenges this conventional wisdom,
suggesting our preference for sweet tastes may be more stable than we
think.
Challenging the "Sweet Tooth" Hypothesis
Researchers from Wageningen University and Bournemouth University set
out to test the popular notion that our dietary habits shape our taste
preferences. The results were published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition.
"We were interested in the popular idea that sweet food consumption
increases liking for other sweet foods, and that this in turn increases
further consumption of sweet foods, potentially leading to excess energy
intake and excess body weight," explains Dr. Katherine Appleton,
Professor at Bournemouth University and lead investigator of the study.
"Despite the idea being popular, very little scientific evidence
supports it."
To investigate, Appleton and her team conducted a study involving 180
healthy adults. Participants were randomly divided into three groups and
provided with about half of their daily food and drinks:
Low Sweet Taste Group: Consumed a diet where only a small portion of
their food was sweet
Regular Sweet Taste Group: Followed a diet reflecting typical sweet food
consumption
High Sweet Taste Group: Consumed a diet with a large proportion of
sweet-tasting foods and beverages
These sweet tastes came from various sources, including sugar,
low-calorie sweeteners, fruits, and dairy, mirroring a real-world diet.
Over a six-month intervention and a four-month follow-up, the
researchers tracked participants' liking for sweet foods, their food
choices, daily energy intake, and body weight.
What the Study Found
The results were striking and consistent across the board. "We found
that increased sweet food consumption by adults for a period of six
months does not change liking for other sweet foods, nor sweet food
intake, nor body weight. Nor did a low sweet food consumption result in
reductions," says Appleton. "These findings demonstrate that liking for
sweet taste in adulthood is very stable."
In other words, participants who ate a
high-sweet diet didn't develop a stronger preference for sweetness.
Conversely, those on the low-sweet diet didn't start disliking sweets or
crave them less. Their fundamental preference for sweet taste remained
unchanged, regardless of their diet.
Furthermore, the study found no significant differences between the
groups in terms of overall energy intake or changes in body weight. This
directly challenges the "sweet tooth hypothesis"—the idea that a
preference for sweetness drives overconsumption and weight gain.
Interestingly, after the intervention ended, participants in the low-
and high-sweet groups naturally returned to their baseline level of
sweet food consumption, further showing that our preference for a
certain level of sweetness may be deeply ingrained.
While the study focused on adults, Appleton notes the potential
implications for other age groups. "Whether we would find this also in
children, we can't answer—we didn't include children in the study, but
based on the scientific literature, we have no reason to expect anything
different in children."
Sweet Taste vs. Free Sugars
This is where the conversation gets more nuanced. It's crucial to
understand what the study looked at, and what it didn't. "It is
important to clarify that our study and our findings relate to sweet
taste consumption—that is, sweet taste from sugar, low-calorie
sweeteners and fruit—not to sugar or free sugar consumption," Appleton
emphasizes.
This distinction is vital. While the study suggests that our preference
for sweetness itself doesn't change, it doesn't contradict the
well-established link between high free sugar intake and health issues.
Free sugars are those added to foods and drinks, as well as sugars
naturally present in foods like honey and syrups.
Appleton elaborates: "Plenty of scientific evidence supports an
association between free sugar consumption, excess energy intake and
excess body weight. Our findings suggest that excess energy intake and
body weight are unlikely to be affected by reducing our consumption of
sweet taste, and that recommendations to reduce body weight should focus
on free sugars, and not sweet taste."
What This Means for You
These findings can be liberating,
especially for people tired of the all-or-nothing rules of diet culture.
The key takeaway is not that we should eat unlimited amounts of sugar,
but that we can stop fearing the taste of sweetness itself. It also
alleviates the notion that you "cause" your sweet tooth by eating
sweets. Here's how you can apply these insights in a balanced way:
Stop fearing sweetness: Enjoying a piece of fruit, a yogurt with
low-calorie sweetener, or a small dessert isn't going to "ruin" your
palate or doom you to a lifetime of uncontrollable cravings. Your
preference for sweetness is likely stable.
Focus on the source: Instead of banning all things sweet, be mindful of
where the sweetness comes from. Prioritize foods like fruits, which
offer sweetness along with fiber, vitamins, and water. These nutrients
help you feel full and satisfied.
Be mindful of free sugars: Pay attention to added sugars in certain
ultra-processed foods, drinks, and desserts. These contribute calories
without much nutritional benefit and are easy to overconsume. The goal
isn't elimination but awareness and moderation.
Practice mindful eating: Enjoy your sweet foods without guilt. When you
do have a treat, savor it. Eat slowly, pay attention to the taste and
texture, and notice how you feel. This can lead to greater satisfaction
from smaller portions.
Listen to your body: This study reinforces the idea that our bodies have
a good sense of what they want. By moving away from restrictive rules,
you can better tune into your internal hunger and fullness cues,
building a more sustainable and enjoyable approach to eating.
The Bottom Line
Ultimately, this research suggests that public health advice might be
more effective if it shifts its focus from demonizing sweet taste to
promoting more nutrient-dense food choices overall. For the rest of us,
these findings highlight the value of making informed decisions about
the sources of sweetness in our diet—without the fear that enjoying
something sweet today will trap us in an endless cycle of cravings
tomorrow.