Could regenerating taste buds help tackle obesity?

BEING overweight may make it harder to taste food, causing overeating, suggests new research.

A study of mice found that those fattened up on a calorific diet lost 25 per cent of their taste buds over eight weeks.

The researchers believe this is the result of damage caused by inflammation, which is linked to obesity. This may explain why some obese people have a less intense sense of taste, possibly compelling them to eat more, write the researchers in the journal PLOS Biology.

The findings could lead to new treatments for obesity, focusing on the taste buds.