Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com Abbreviations: TAS2R38, taste receptor 2 member 38 protein; TFEQ, three factor eating questionnaire; FCI, food craving inventory; FCI-A, food craving inventory; LDS, liking/disliking scale; gLMS, general labeled magnitude scale; KMO, kaiser-meyer-olkin; CFA, confrmatory factor analysis Introduction There is a growing interest in bitter tasting foods and their associations with decreased risk of conditions such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and colorectal cancer. 1‒3 Many bitter tastes come from healthy, plant-based phytochemicals such as isothiocyanates in cruciferous vegetables, 4 and the consumption of certain bitter foods can mitigate some chronic disease risks, but the desire to consume these bitter foods (e.g., coffee, cruciferous vegetables) is shaped by experiential, cognitive, and cultural infuences as well as genetically- linked bitter taste sensitivity. The gene that codes for the taste receptor member 38 protein (TAS2R38) is one of a family of bitter taste receptor genes found in the gustatory cells within the papillae of the tongue. Different genotypes of the TAS2R38 gene have been shown to infuence one’s ability to taste the bitter compound 6-n-propylthiouracil 5 and this ability then interacts with other factors to infuence preference for, or aversion to, bitter foods. 6 For many tastes, researchers use self- report scales of liking, disliking, and craving to assess individuals’ preferences and likelihoods of consuming particular foods. These scales assess sweets, carbohydrates/starches, and high fat foods but to date, no food craving scale has included indicators for bitter tastes. Weingarten and Elston 7 defned craving as an intense, diffcult- to-resist desire to consume a particular food. Craving for bitter- tasting foods such as coffee or cruciferous vegetables depends on an individual’s taste sensitivity determined by TAS2R38 and bitter taste exposures. Those who are very sensitive to bitter tastes often dislike the experience of eating bitter foods and crave these foods less while individuals who are less sensitive to bitter tastes often enjoy these foods more and are more likely to crave them. 8 An understanding of an individual’s preferences and cravings, may allow clinicians to make dietary recommendations that are more individually tailored and, therefore, more likely to be both optimal and achievable. Cravings, their frequency, and their intensity can be measured using surveys such as the State and Trait General Food Craving Questionnaire, 9 the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), 10 and the Food Craving Inventory (FCI) 11 although only the FCI measures cravings for specifc tastes/foods (sweet, carbohydrates/starches, high fat, and fast-food fats). None of the existing surveys captures craving for bitter tastes and foods. Foods with sweet and high fat tastes are typically considered to be “comfort foods”, as they demonstrate clear hedonic properties. 12‒14 However, sweet and bitter food preferences have been shown to be positively correlated while fat and bitter foods preferences are negatively correlated. 15,16 This suggests that cravings for these sensations may also be correlated with a hypothesis that individuals who crave sweet foods will also be more likely to crave bitter foods. J Nutr Health Food Eng. 2016;4(3):437‒443. 437 © 2016 Kwok et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially. The alteration and validation of food craving inventory to measure bitter tasting foods Volume 4 Issue 3 - 2016 Gigi Kwok, 1 Leslie R. Martin, 2 Ella Haddad, 3 Willie Davis, 4 Warren Peters 5 1 Department of Health Education and Promotion, Loma Linda University, USA 2 Department of Psychology, La Sierra University, USA 3 Department of Nutrition, Loma Linda University, USA 4 Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, Loma Linda University, USA 5 Center for Health Promotion, USA Correspondence: Gigi Kwok, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Loma Linda University, School of Public Health, 24951 North Circle Drive, Nichol Hall, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA, Tel (714) 8834606, Email gkwok@alumni.ucsd.edu Received: March 26, 2016 | Published: May 17, 2016 Abstract Background: Bitter tasting foods (vegetables, coffee, and alcohols) contain phytochemicals that may mitigate chronic disease risks. Individuals who are insensitive to bitter taste and food are more likely to crave and to consume these foods than those who are very sensitive. Sensitivity and craving are determined by genes and exposure to bitter tastes and foods. Craving can be measured using surveys but none currently measures craving for bitter foods. This study validates an altered Food Craving Inventory (FCI) that has been modifed to include bitter foods. Methods: 200 respondents were anonymously surveyed regarding their liking and cravings for a variety of foods, including bitter items. The altered FCI (FCI-A) was validated against an altered Liking/Disliking Scale (LDS-A). The analyses included a fve-factor confrmatory factor analysis, a reliability analysis, and basic construct validity assessments. b he FCI-A largely replicated the expected factor structure, as modeled by White et al. (2002). Bitter foods and coffee comprised a single factor, but beer and wine failed to cluster with these other consumables. The FCI-A subscales were consistent, in terms of internal consistency reliability, with the original FCI. The FCI-A and LDS-A subscales (bitter, sweet, and fats) were correlated to establish construct validity. Conclusion: Bitter taste can be added to the FCI to measure bitter food cravings as shown in this validation study. Keywords: food craving, food craving inventory, bitter taste, liking/disliking Journal of Nutritional Health & Food Engineering Research Article Open Access