Preliminary Report: A case study: the identification and taste preference for regular versus reduced-fat containing food in African-American young adults

Abstract. About 70% of African-Americans are currently overweight. Among these overweight individuals, 40% are adults aged 20 years and older. Such high incidence of overweight cases in African-Americans raises the question: does this population have a taste preference for dietary fat? The objective of this study was to determine if dietary fat preference depends on taste sensitivity in young African-American adults. Fifty-seven African-Americans aged 18 to 21 voluntarily participated in the study. Two types of commonly consumed food, lasagna and macaroni and cheese, were used. Each food type had two versions prepared with identical ingredients and cooking methods, except for total fat content (reduced-fat versus regular-fat). Demographic data, food consumption frequency, correct identification, and taste preference were collected and analyzed using the Student t-test, Chi-Square, and Pearson correlation tests at the 5% significance level. Results revealed a significant correlation between dietary prefere...