Association between food craving and taste genes in people with obesity

Food craving (FC) is an uncontrollable desire to eat specific foods, and it is activated during the withdrawal phase of eating foods, commonly sugary, salty or fatty. Comorbidity has been found with obesity (OB) and eating behavior disorders, as well as being a negative factor for adherence to OB treatments. Trait and State Food-Cravings Questionnaires, are validated instruments, that measure trait and state; both are reliable, with high internal consistency (a> 0.90). The objective, was to analyze differences in normal weight and obese subjects, in scores of the FCQ Trait and State, and their correlation with gene expression DRD2, TAS1R2, TAS1R3 and TAS2R43. It was a correlational, cross-sectional study of cases and controls, non-probabilistic sampling, and at convenience; n= 40 adults, both sexes between 18-45 years, 20 normal weight and 20 obese, from Mexico City and the State of Mexico. BMI, gene expression and FC were evaluated. Significant differences were found (p <0.05) in relative expression of TAS1R2, and positive correlation between FCQ and TAS1R2 expression in obese; in turn we found that FCQ-T and FCQ-S predict gene expression of TAS1R2 and TAS2R43 in men, and in women of TAS1R2, TAS2R43 and DRD2. This research offers new perspectives to understand the association between FC with the sweet taste receptor (TAS1R2), evidencing the link with molecular components, which together influence the explanation of the development of addiction to sugary foods in OB.