What Makes Us Like or Dislike Specific Foods?


Have you ever wondered why some foods seem irresistible while others fail to appeal to you? Although taste is an obvious factor, researchers have been exploring whether other characteristics, such as energy density, food processing, and the balance of carbohydrates and fat, also influence how much we like and want to eat certain foods.

A 2024 study published in Appetite examined these factors to better understand the psychological processes involved in food liking and food reward.

What Makes Certain Foods More Appealing?

Previous research has suggested that ultraprocessed foods may contribute to overeating because some of their characteristics can strongly activate the brain's reward system. Other research has found that foods containing both carbohydrates and fat may produce particularly strong reward responses.

However, it remains unclear which characteristics of food are most important in determining how much people like and want to eat it.

Peter J. Rogers and colleagues investigated three characteristics:

  • Energy density
  • Level of food processing
  • Carbohydrate-to-fat ratio

They also examined sensory characteristics such as taste intensity, sweetness, and saltiness.

How Was the Study Conducted?

The online experiment included 224 adults, with a mean age of 35 years. Of the participants, 62.5% were female, while 43% were overweight or obese.

Participants were divided into three groups. Each group evaluated foods that differed in either energy density, level of processing, or carbohydrate-to-fat ratio.

Participants rated each food based on:

  • How much they wanted to eat it
  • How pleasant they expected it to taste
  • Sweetness
  • Saltiness
  • Flavor intensity

Participants were asked not to eat for 2 hours before the experiment so that they would experience some hunger while completing the ratings.

Taste and Carbohydrate-to-Fat Ratio Influenced Food Liking

The results showed that carbohydrate-to-fat ratio and taste were important determinants of food liking and food reward.

Participants particularly liked and wanted to eat foods containing roughly equal amounts of carbohydrates and fat. Foods made up primarily of carbohydrates or primarily of fat generally received lower ratings.

The statistical analysis also showed that foods with approximately equal amounts of carbohydrates and fat, more intense taste, and lower fiber content were associated with greater liking and food reward.

These findings suggest that the combination of macronutrients and sensory qualities may influence food appeal and eating motivation.

Did Energy Density Affect Food Reward?

Energy density also influenced participants' responses.

Participants generally liked and wanted to eat energy-dense foods more. Taste intensity also tended to increase with energy density.

Interestingly, however, the least-liked foods were not necessarily those with the lowest energy density. This suggests that the relationship between energy density and food liking may be more complex than simply preferring foods with more calories per gram.

Are Ultraprocessed Foods Always More Rewarding?

One of the study's most interesting findings concerned food processing.

Participants rated processed foods as more liked, rewarding, and taste-intensive than minimally processed foods. However, ultraprocessed foods were not rated as the most liked or rewarding.

This contrasts with some previous research suggesting that ultraprocessed foods have particularly strong effects on food reward.

Importantly, the researchers found that level of processing was not a primary determinant of food liking or the desire to eat in this study.

What Does This Mean for Nutritional Psychology?

From a nutritional psychology perspective, the findings highlight that food choice and eating motivation are influenced by several interacting factors.

While food processing has received considerable attention in research on eating behavior, this study suggests that taste and the combination of carbohydrates and fat may be more important predictors of food reward in some circumstances.

Understanding these psychological and sensory influences may help researchers and health professionals better understand eating behavior and develop more effective approaches to obesity prevention and healthy eating.

Key Takeaway

What makes us like or dislike specific foods may have more to do with taste and macronutrient composition than simply how processed a food is.

In this study, foods containing roughly equal amounts of carbohydrates and fat, particularly those with intense taste and low fiber content, received the highest ratings for liking and food reward.

Reference: Rogers, P. J., et al. (2024). Evidence that carbohydrate-to-fat ratio and taste, but not energy density or NOVA level of processing, are determinants of food liking and food reward. Appetite.

Read full research article here : https://www.nutritional-psychology.org/what-makes-us-like-or-dislike-specific-foods/.

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