Researchers from the Monell Chemical Senses Centre, Philadelphia has found that some people are really born with a sweet tooth. According to the researchers, the answer why some crave more sugar and others do not, lies in the genes.

These people are born with a weaker sweet taste, meaning they may need more sugar than others to taste the same level of sweetness.

"Just as people born with a poor sense of hearing may need to turn up the volume to hear the radio, people born with weak sweet taste may need an extra teaspoon of sugar in their coffee to get the same sweet punch." says Dr. Danielle Reed, study author and behavioral geneticist at Monell.

A study found a single set of genes affects a person’s perception of sweetness. “Our work suggests that part of what determines our perception of sweetness is inborn in our genetic make-up,” Dr. Reed said.

"Eating too much sugar is often seen as a personal weakness. However, our work suggests that part of what determines our perception of sweetness is in our genetic makeup," she explained.

Many people around the world are fond of sweets, like cookies, cakes, chocolates, and sweet drinks. It is because some people associate sweet food specifically with comfort and well being.

As part of the study, Dr Reed and her team tested 243 pairs of identical twins, 452 pairs of fraternal twins and 511 unpaired individuals.

Studying twins allows the researchers to determine how much their DNA contributed to their perception of the intensity of a sweet flavor.

They found that genetic factors account for approximately 30 percent of variation in sweetness between person to person.

"Our findings indicate that shared experiences, such as family meals, had no detectable ability to make twins more similar in taste measures," Dr Reed said. "The next big question is if, and how, genes and early experiences interact to affect food choice."