Date Approved
10-29-2013
Date Posted
5-16-2014
Degree Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department or School
Psychology
Committee Member
Natalie Dove, Ph.D., Chair
Committee Member
Karen Saules, Ph. D.
Committee Member
Alida Westman, Ph.D.
Abstract
Body fat and taste sensitivity have been explored with mixed results. Generally, studies have used Body Mass Index (BMI) as an indicator of obesity. This research study explores the relations between body fat percentage using a fairly new measure, Body Adiposity Index (BAI; Bergman et al., 2011), BMI, and the three types of taste sensitivities: non-, medium, and supertasters. Taste sensitivity was assessed using two methods: the blue food dye exam (Miller & Reedy, 1990) and the filter paper method (Zhao, Kirkmeyer, & Tepper, 2003) using the general Labeled Magnitude Scale (Bartoshuk et al., 2004) among student participants (n = 75). It was hypothesized that supertasters would have a lower BAI than non-tasters and medium tasters, and BAI would explain more of the variance among taster groups than BMI. Neither hypothesis was supported by the data. Limitations, implications, and suggestions for future research were discussed.
Recommended Citation
Lemaster, Amanda J., "Examining relationships of taste sensitivity and body fat percentage using body adiposity index" (2013). Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. 573.
https://commons.emich.edu/theses/573