Scientists Have Figured Out Why Some People Are Picky Eaters

It's not unusual for kids to be fussy about food. When you've never encountered a stuffed vine leaf or anchovy before, putting several in your mouth and chewing enthusiastically is a pretty terrifying prospect. But with a little encouragement (read: bribes) from mum and dad, most of us can grow out of our picky eating phase to become adults with varied and healthy diets. (Well, almost all of us.)

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 programme Gemini to examine the impact of genetics on eating behaviours.

More than 1,900 families took part, with parents completing a questionnaire on the foods their children enjoyed eating and any they refused to try.

Researchers from the UK and Norway then compared the results from identical twins (who share DNA) with fraternal twins, who share around half of the genes that make people different. This allowed them to examine the influence of genetic factors on kids' eating habits.

The results? Genes play a pretty big role in the way kids eat.

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."

The researchers were not able to identify exactly which genes influence picky eating and fear of unfamiliar foods. It is likely that many different ones play a role.

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 behaviours, in how sensitive individuals are to texture and flavours, to how extroverted and how open they are to new situations."

However, all is not lost for the parents of those children with fussy eating genes. The study noted that environmental factors, such as home life, could also influence toddler behaviour. If parents are persistent with that broccoli airplane, it'll eventually reach its destination.

Smith added: "We know that genes are not our destiny. Parents can positively influence their child's eating behaviours."

Looks like you can blame your spinach "allergy" on your parents, after all.