March 6/London/Globe and Mail -- A study has found a specific gene variation associated with how well people sense fat on the tongue is also linked with their preference for fat. The discovery, published in the journal Obesity, could have implications for how successful certain individuals are in losing weight, researchers say.
Previous research suggests that a protein called CD36, which helps fatty acids move across cell membranes, is an oral fat receptor that allows people to perceive fats as a taste sensation.