The case in summary: Pickiness in children is largely based on genetics, according to a new study. The study showed that pickiness lasts from early childhood to the beginning of adolescence, and peaks around the age of seven. The researchers used data from the British Gemini study, in which they analyzed eating habits among children aged 16 months to 13 years. Identical twins were more in agreement about which foods they liked and disliked, which supports the theory of the role of genetics. The environment you grow up in, such as your parents’ and friends’ eating habits, also influences how picky you become. Although much is down to genetics, parents can help improve eating habits by letting their children try different foods throughout childhood. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. It’s dinner time, fish and vegetables are on the menu and the little ones around the table poke at the food. Then it is easy to become both frustrated and irritated, and not least to think: Where did I really go wrong? But don’t despair. Because according to a new study, parents can breathe easy. Pickiness is largely based on genetics, the researchers write. They have also found that this often lasts from early childhood to the beginning of adolescence. – We hope that our results, which show that this is largely innate, can help parents feel less guilty. Zeynep Nas says so in a press release. She is the lead author of the study. They also saw that pickiness among children peaked at a certain age. Used data from twins To arrive at the results, the researchers examined eating habits among children aged 16 months to 13 years. Nas and her colleagues analyzed data from the British Gemini study. There, 2,400 sets of twins have been registered to explore how genetics and environment affect childhood. As part of the study, parents also filled in forms in which they answered questions about their children’s eating habits. They did this when the children were 16 months, three, five, seven and 13 years old. Just the thought of broccoli makes many children and young people wrinkle their noses. Photo: Colourbox To find out how much genetics has to do with pickiness, the researchers compared the eating habits of identical and fraternal twins. While identical twins share 100 percent of their genes, fraternal twins only share half. According to the researchers, identical twins were more in agreement about which foods they liked and disliked, which supports the theory. In addition to DNA, the environment you grow up in also influences how picky you become or not. According to the authors, you are influenced by seeing what others around you put in their mouths. You can influence The researchers believe that selective eating begins in early childhood and continues into early adolescence. According to the results, they saw a small peak around the age of seven. After this, tolerance improved slightly. Nevertheless, they point out that the habits can also continue into the teenage years. But even if a lot is down to genetics, parents can certainly help to improve eating habits. Then it’s a lot about letting the children try different foods throughout their childhood, explains Alison Fildes. For young children, the parents’ eating habits are the most important, but when you get older, perhaps the influence of friends is just as important, write the authors behind the study. – Don’t use coercion Trine Tetlie Eik-Nes is associate professor at NTNU. She researches, among other things, eating behaviour, eating disorders and obesity. She says the results from the new study support what has been seen from previous research. And believes this is something we can learn from. – Pickiness and selective eating is not something you can control yourself. And it is a clear sign that you should not use coercion. We all have different approaches to a variety of food, and it’s perfectly fine that everyone doesn’t like the same thing, she says to news. The NTNU researcher says parents are far from without a chance to influence their children’s food choices, but that it is important to remember that we are born different. Some are born with better rhythm than others, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to dance… Photo: Kirsti Kringstad / news Eik-Nes says that research never gives two lines under the answer, and that as parents you can influence the children’s food choices. – Offer food with different colors and let them participate in the cooking. It’s okay to let them both smell and feel the food. You may want to be creative, but take small steps at a time. Should investigate different food cultures Understanding more about what drives food choices can help researchers find out what makes some people choose to eat healthy, while others lean more towards the unhealthy. The new study must have some limitations. This is about a limited selection of children, and the fact that the vast majority are white and come from a higher socio-economic background. In the future, there will be a need for studies that include a wider range of non-Western cultures, experts believe. Published 25/09/2024, at 15.18
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Pickiness is in the genes and peaks when children are seven years old, according to new research – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio
