Kids' Food Fussiness May Be Inherited
By
Maria Cheng, Associated Press
LONDON
(AP) -- Having trouble persuading your child to eat broccoli or
spinach? You may have only yourself to blame. According to a study
of twins, neophobia -- or the fear of new foods -- is mostly in
the genes.
"Children could actually blame their mothers
for this,'' said Jane Wardle, director of the Health Behavior
Unit at University College London, one of the authors of the study
in this month's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Wardle and colleagues asked the parents of 5,390
pairs of identical and non-identical twins to complete a questionnaire
on their children's' willingness to try new foods.
Identical twins, who share all genes, were much
more likely to respond the same way to new foods than non-identical
twins, who like other siblings only share about half their genes.
Researchers concluded that genetics played a greater role in determining
eating preferences than environment, since the twins lived in
the same household.
Wardle said food preferences appear to be "as
inheritable a physical characteristic as height.''
Unlike nearly every other phobia, neophobia is
a normal stage of human development.
Scientists theorize that it was originally an
evolutionary mechanism designed to protect children from accidentally
eating dangerous things -- like poisonous berries or mushrooms.
Neophobia typically kicks in at age 2 or 3, when
children are newly mobile and capable of disappearing from their
parents' sight within seconds. Being unwilling to eat new things
they stumble upon may turn out to be a lifesaver.
While most children grow out of the food fussiness
by age 5, not all do. For parents of particularly picky eaters,
experts encourage them not to cave in when their children throw
food tantrums.
"Parents should not feel like they're doing
something wrong if they keep trying but their child is not overjoyed
to be eating Brussels sprouts,'' said Marlene Schwartz, deputy
director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale
University, who is not connected to the study.
While most people will eventually like any food
-- even one they initially disliked -- after trying it about 10
times, more persistence may be needed when trying to convert a
neophobic child.
"It's like learning to ride a bike,'' Schwartz
said. "Some children have a harder time learning and it takes
longer, but it's still worthwhile to teach them.''
Other taste-related traits -- like the ability
to taste bitterness -- are also inherited. Scientists have already
identified the gene responsible, and have found that approximately
30 percent of Caucasians lack the gene and cannot taste bitterness.
Some experts think that neophobia is essentially
a reflection of personality. People known as "sensation seekers,''
or those in search of new and intense experiences, tend to be
willing to eat anything. Conversely, shy people tend to be reluctant
to experiment with their palate.
"Food is just one kind of stimulus in the
environment that people either approach or avoid,'' said Patricia
Pliner, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto.
Still, experts say that the environment parents
create is crucial to determining their children's eating habits.
"It can't all be genetics,'' said Marcy Goldsmith,
a nutrition and behavior specialist at Tufts University. "Parents
need to offer their children new foods so they at least have a
chance to try it.'' |