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.
","abstract_html":"<p>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.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Lemaster, Amanda J."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Natalie Dove, Ph.D., Chair","Karen Saules, Ph. D.","Alida Westman, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-10-29T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-10-29T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:57Z","subjects":["taste sensitivities","body adiposity inde","body mass index","supertasters","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/573","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Natalie Dove, Ph.D., Chair","Karen Saules, Ph. D.","Alida Westman, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Lemaster, Amanda J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-05-16T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["taste sensitivities","body adiposity inde","body mass index","supertasters","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/573"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Examining relationships of taste sensitivity and body fat percentage using body adiposity index"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Natalie Dove, Ph.D., Chair","Karen Saules, Ph. D.","Alida Westman, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Lemaster, Amanda J."],"dc:date.available":["2014-05-16T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/573"],"dc:subject":["taste sensitivities","body adiposity inde","body mass index","supertasters","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Examining relationships of taste sensitivity and body fat percentage using body adiposity index"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:57Z"}