Picky eating could be in your genes, new research reveals.
Two genetic variations that code for picky eating habits have been identified for the first time by scientists.
Both genes are related to bitter taste receptors, but one is linked to children who just don't like the taste of certain foods, while the other is associated with fussiness and meal-time power struggles.
This new understanding of how children's tastes develop could help the researchers from the University of Illinois's Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention Program (I-TOPP) develop strategies to help parents introduce healthy diets to their children. These findings dispel the notion that poor parenting is solely to blame for picky eating. Instead, it's caused by a combination of parent's genes and environmental factors.
The study, conducted at the university's Urbana-Champaign campus, examined children between the ages of two and four.
At this stage, picky-eating is common, but for some children it can develop into a more lasting issue that makes a healthy diet harder to maintain.
Some studies have even linked picky eating during childhood to problems with being over or under weight, or struggling with eating disorders later in life.
Lead study author Natasha Chong Cole and her team have been studying picky eating from both 'nature' and 'nurture' angles.
In previous research, they were able to make the distinction between the three kinds of picky eaters, those that were taste-particular, those that were behaviorally temperamental about food, and those that refused meals.
Further studies are needed to see how children's preferences are influenced by the look or smell of food.
