Seventy-five non-smoking volunteers (28 men and 47 women) were recruited for the study. Participants between 20-30 years were eligible for the study. Thresholds for the 4 basic tastes were evaluated in all subjects in order to rule out any gustatory impairment. The volunteers showed no variation of body weight > 5 kg over the last 3 mo. They were not following a prescribed diet or using medications that might interfere with taste perception; none had food allergies. They were assessed for cognitive eating behaviours using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire