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LONDON — Being a picky eater isn’t a phase — it’s in your genes. Scientists have recently found genetic evidence influencing whether someone grows up to become a fussy eater.
Toddlers often fuss about what foods they want to eat, preferring a small range of foods, and are reluctant to try new meals. Picky eating is often considered a temporary phase, and parents tend to blame themselves when it persists. However, the study published in the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry found that it’s not a phase — it’s a behavior influenced by specific genes. In fact, researchers say genetic differences accounted for 60% of the variations in pickiness at 16 months of age. For children between the ages of three and 13, genes contributed to 74% of fussy eating cases.
“Our study also shows that fussy eating is not necessarily just a ‘phase’, but may follow a persistent trajectory,” says Zeynep Nas, a researcher at the University College London and lead author of the study, in a media release. “Our study also shows that fussy eating is not necessarily just a ‘phase,’ but may follow a persistent trajectory.”
The team surveyed parents with identical or non-identical twins in England and Wales between 16 months and 13 years of age. Studying twins helps researchers determine whether a behavior is because of genes or other environmental factors.
Researchers also analyzed the survey results from 2,400 sets of twins enrolled in a larger study examining how genetic and environmental factors affect early growth. Parents filled out questionnaires on their children’s eating behavior when they were 16 months, three, five, seven, and 13 years-old.
To separate genetic and environmental influences, the research team compared the similarity in fussy eating between non-identical twin pairs, who share 50% of their genes, and identical twins, who share 100% of their genes.
Non-identical twins showed different eating behaviors than identical twins, suggesting a genetic influence. Only a quarter of fussy eating was because of environmental factors.
Environmental factors became more influential as identical twins grew older. The differences in picky eating habits between seven and 13 were because of unique experiences, such as their number of friends.
“Shared environmental factors, such as sitting down together as a family to eat meals, may only be significant in toddlerhood. This suggests that interventions to help children eat a wider range of foods, such as repeatedly exposing children to the same foods regularly and offering a variety of fruits and vegetables, may be most effective in the very early years,” explains Clare Llewellyn, a researcher at the University College London and senior author of the study.
While fussy eating is largely genetic, the researchers note that this does not mean picky eating behaviors cannot be changed.
“Parents can continue to support their children to eat a wide variety of foods throughout childhood and into adolescence, but peers and friends might become a more important influence on children’s diets as they reach their teens,” adds Alison Fildes, a researcher at the University of Leeds.
Paper Summary
Methodology
This study looked at how picky eating (called “food fussiness”) changes as kids grow up. The researchers followed a group of twins from when they were toddlers until they were teenagers. They used a special survey that parents filled out about their kids’ eating habits at different ages: 16 months, 3 years, 5 years, 7 years, and 13 years old.
By studying twins, the researchers could figure out how much of picky eating is due to genes (things kids are born with) and how much is due to their environment (things they experience growing up). They compared identical twins (who share all their genes) with fraternal twins (who share only some genes) to see how similar their eating habits were.
Key Results
The study found that picky eating tends to stay pretty consistent as kids grow up. If a child was a picky eater as a toddler, they were likely to still be picky as a teenager. The researchers discovered that genes play a big role in picky eating – about 60% to 84% of the differences in picky eating between kids were due to genetics.
They also found that the shared family environment (like how parents feed their kids) was only important when children were very young (around 16 months-old). After that, genes and individual experiences became more important in shaping picky eating habits.
Interestingly, the genetic factors that influence picky eating in toddlerhood continue to have an effect even 10 years later, showing that these traits are quite stable over time.
Study Limitations
The study lost some participants over time, which could affect the results, especially for the 7-year-old group, where fewer kids were included. The study mostly included white British families with higher incomes, so the results might not apply to all groups of people.
Parents reported their children’s eating habits, which might not always be completely accurate. The way picky eating was measured might mean slightly different things at different ages. The study also assumes that identical and fraternal twins have similar environments, which might not always be true.
Discussion & Takeaways
Picky eating is strongly influenced by genetics, which might help parents feel less blamed for their child’s eating habits. Interventions to change picky eating might work best when children are very young (around toddler age).
Picky eating isn’t just a phase for many kids – it can persist from childhood into the teenage years. Early detection and intervention for picky eating in toddlerhood might help reduce these behaviors as children grow up. The study suggests a need for compassionate, evidence-based ways to help parents deal with picky eaters.
Funding & Disclosures
The study received funding from the U.K. mental health charity MQ Mental Health Research. The authors declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest, which means they don’t have any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence their research.
