How Does Age Affect Taste Perceptions?

Author: Maryam Ayres Time for reading: ~1 minutes Last Updated: August 08, 2022

In this article, learn more about How Does Age Affect Taste Perceptions?. With age, the taste buds in the oral cavity also decrease..

The perception of different tastes can change over time - for example, if a food was not tasty for us as children, we start to like it later.

In a new study, researchers found the average age at which this reversal occurs is 22 years. Then the average person begins to appreciate the more complex and strong flavors such as goat cheese, chili sauce and avocado .

According to scientists, the change in taste perception is due to a decrease in the number of taste buds with age. For example, babies have an innate appetite for sweets, and breast milk is rich in sugar and fat .

Newborns have about 30,000 taste buds in their mouth and for this reason the stronger tastes are very intense for children. By the time they reach adulthood, about a third of these taste buds remain, most of them located on the tongue.

According to the new study, many people do not like strong tastes during childhood , even in adolescence.

One such example is parmesan, the taste of which cannot be appreciated before the age of 22. From this age we start to like blue cheese . Similarly, most people do not like spicy curry until late adolescence.

According to the survey, one in three adults consumes food they do not like when they are guests, just so as not to offend the host, writes the Daily Mail .

How Does Age Affect Taste Perceptions?

Related Articles