Ciggies could dull obese women's ability to taste fat and sugar

Researchers have said that cigarette smoking among obese women seems to interfere with their ability to taste fats and sweets.

Despite craving high-fat, sugary foods, these women were less likely than others to perceive these tastes, which may drive them to consume more calories.

M. Yanina Pepino, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Julie Mennella, PhD, a biopsychologist at the Monell Center in Philadelphia, where the research was conducted, studied four groups of women ages 21 to 41: obese smokers, obese nonsmokers, smokers of normal weight and nonsmokers of normal weight. The women tasted several vanilla puddings containing varying amounts of fat and were asked to rate them for sweetness and creaminess, a measure of fat content.

Pepino said compared with the other three groups, smokers who were obese perceived less creaminess and sweetness, asserting that they also derived less pleasure from tasting the puddings.

The findings have been published in the journal Obesity.