Now a new University of Otago-led study has found our love of sweet food goes way back to our early primate ancestors — up to 40 million years ago.
The work sheds light on the dietary habits of early anthropoids, which includes fossil monkeys and apes, through analysis of tooth chipping patterns and cavities.
The study used fossils from the Fayum Depression, in Egypt — an invaluable source for understanding anthropoid evolution, spanning from the late Eocene to the early Oligocene period, or up to 40 million years ago.
Lead author and University of Otago Sir John Walsh Research Institute dentistry researcher Dr Ian Towle said dental chipping patterns in five types of primates were examined and compared with data from living primates.
The researchers wanted to find out what made up the diet of early primates, and whether it consisted of hard or soft foods, he said.
"Close attention was paid to the frequency, severity and location of dental chips.
"We were also interested in the presence of dental caries, often linked to the consumption of soft fruits in modern primates."
The research found a remarkably low prevalence of tooth chipping, with just 21 of the 421 teeth studied showing fractures.
"Our findings indicate a predominant consumption of soft fruits among early anthropoids.
"The low prevalence of tooth chipping, particularly in comparison to modern anthropoids, hints at a preference for soft food sources, like ripe, sugary fruits."
The study added "substantial support" to the hypothesis of limited dietary diversity among early anthropoids, with diversification in monkey and ape diets coming later in their evolutionary history, Dr Towle said.
"These insights into ancient primate diets provide crucial groundwork for understanding the evolutionary trajectories of our primate ancestors."
Co-author and Duke University Lemur Centre Museum of Natural History researcher Dr Matthew Borths said the Fayum Depression was important because it showed how primates survived during the "huge climate changes" when the first glaciers formed in Antarctica.
"The Fayum fossil record captures the critical moment when our lineage adapted to this drier, cooler world, apparently fuelling themselves with fruit."
