It’s not unusual for kids to be fussy about food…However, new research suggests that being a picky eater might not be down to your parents’ lack of skill in landing that broccoli airplane, but could instead be influenced by genetic makeup.
Published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, the study used data from twin toddlers registered with UK research program Gemini to examine the impact of genetics on eating behaviors.
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Study lead author Andrea Smith, a PhD student at University College, London, explained: “At 16 months, we found that overall 46 percent of the variation in food fussiness was explained by genes, and we found that 58 percent of food neophobia (rejection of new foods) was explained by genes.”
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Smith explained: “There will never been one gene which is the food fussiness gene—there are a lot of different ones. These genetic effects might be working through slight differences in personality in eating behaviors, in how sensitive individuals are to texture and flavors, to how extroverted and how open they are to new situations.”
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Scientists Have Figured Out Why Some People Are Picky Eaters
