LB080 - ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BITTERNESS OF DIET AND CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK FACTORS: FINDINGS FROM A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN ADULTS

LB080

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BITTERNESS OF DIET AND CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK FACTORS: FINDINGS FROM A NATIONALLY REPRESENTATIVE STUDY OF AUSTRALIAN ADULTS

M. Moradi^1,2,*, Z. Mohammadpour³, G. A. Hendrie ⁴, P. G. Briiker⁴, L. K. Heilbronn^1,2,5, J. G. Grieger^1,2,5

¹Adelaide Medical School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, ²Lifelong Health Theme, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Adelaide, South Australia, ³College of Medicine and dentistry, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD 4878, ⁴Health and Biosecurity, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), ⁵Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Rationale: The sensory properties of food are increasingly recognized for their potential role in regulating blood glucose and cardiometabolic risk factors (1,2). This secondary analysis of the 2011–2012 National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS) aimed to examine the association between bitterness of diet and cardiometabolic risk factors in Australian adults.

Methods: The study utilized data from 8,975 participants, linking dietary intake information and the cardiometabolic risk measures of participants from NNPAS to the sensory value of foods from the Sensory Diet Database developed by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. The bitterness for each dietary solid food and beverage was quantified by multiplying its bitter taste value obtained from the Sensory Diet Database by the amount consumed in grams from NNPAS. The individual bitterness of diet was calculated by summing the bitterness of consumed foods and beverages separately. Ordinal logistic regression was used to assess the association between dietary bitterness score and cardiometabolic factors. Model 1 adjusted for age, gender, area-level disadvantage, smoking, and physical activity; Model 2 additionally adjusted for energy and alcohol intake; and Model 3 additionally adjusted for BMI.

Results: The second tertile of bitterness of diet was associated with lower odds ratio (OR) of type 2 diabetes, defined by fasting plasma glucose (OR=0.37, confidence intervals (CIs) = 0.19–0.71, P=0.004), and HbA1c for solid foods (OR=0.47, CIs = 0.27–0.81, P=0.007). No significant association was found between tertiles of beverages bitterness score and odds of diabetes. No significant association was observed between tertiles of beverages and solid foods bitterness score and the odds of cardiovascular biomarkers. 

Conclusion: Moderate bitterness score of solid foods is inversely associated with the risk of diabetes. Public health initiatives should consider strategies to increase the consumption of bitter foods as part of a healthy diet.

References: 1. Chou W-L. Therapeutic potential of targeting intestinal bitter taste receptors in diabetes associated with dyslipidemia. Pharmacological Research. 2021;170:105693.

2. Trius-Soler M, Moreno JJ. Bitter taste receptors: Key target to understand the effects of polyphenols on glucose and body weight homeostasis. Pathophysiological and pharmacological implications. Biochemical Pharmacology. 2024:116192.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared