In a new study, mice who were overweight had fewer taste cells capable of detecting sweetness

Obesity may alter the way we taste at the most fundamental level: by changing how our tongues react to different foods.In a study in the journal PLOS ONE, University at Buffalo biologists report that being severely overweight impaired the ability of mice to detect sweets.Compared with slimmer counterparts, the plump mice had fewer taste cells that responded to sweet stimuli. What's more, the cells that did respond to sweetness reacted relatively weakly.The findings peel back a new layer of the mystery of how obesity alters our relationship to food.