Orosensory fat taste sensitivity and dietary patterns in young Lebanese adults: a cross-sectional study

Background Orosensory fat taste perception (oleogustus) contributes to the detection of dietary fatty acids and may influence eating behavior. This study examined oral fat-taste sensitivity, food preference, and habitual dietary intake in young Lebanese adults. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 117 Lebanese adults aged 18–40 years were recruited between June 2024 and December 2025. Oral sensitivity to linoleic acid was assessed with a sip-and-spit three-alternative forced-choice procedure using 13 concentrations from 0.45 μmol/L to 12 mmol/L; fat-taste detection thresholds were obtained for 108 participants. A receiver-operating-characteristic-derived cut-off of 9 μmol/L defined high (HFS; n = 83) and low (LFS; n = 25) fat-taste sensitivity. Food preference was assessed with a 20-item questionnaire and habitual intake with a 97-item food-frequency questionnaire grouped into 19 predefined categories. Dietary patterns were derived by principal component analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation, and Benjamini–Hochberg false-discovery-rate (FDR) correction was applied within each comparison family. Results Among 86 participants with complete paired data, 8 of 21 prespecified preference–consumption correlations remained significant after FDR correction (Spearman ρ = 0.282–0.463; all q ≤ 0.025), the strongest being knefeh with Lebanese-dessert consumption (ρ = 0.463, q < 0.001). Nine of the 97 individual food items differed between groups before correction, but none afterwards (smallest q = 0.097). PCA of the 19 categories ( n = 86) yielded five patterns explaining 50.35% of the variance; none differed between groups ( n = 86) or was associated with LFS after adjustment for age and sex. A post hoc PCA of 16 preselected items ( n = 86) yielded three patterns explaining 40.60% of the variance, of which a vegetable and olive pattern scored higher in HFS participants ( p = 0.001, q = 0.003) and was associated with lower odds of LFS (OR = 0.28, 95% CI 0.10–0.76; q = 0.036). Conclusion Reported preference corresponded to habitual consumption for 8 of 21 food pairs, indicating a food-specific rather than uniform relationship between liking and intake. Fat-taste sensitivity was not associated with individual food consumption or with patterns derived from predefined categories. An exploratory analysis of preselected foods identified a vegetable and olive pattern linked to higher sensitivity, a direction that larger and longitudinal studies are well placed to confirm. Combining fat-taste testing with dietary-pattern analysis may help identify individuals at risk of energy-dense diets.