Author: Francesca Henniker-Gotley
Editor: Altay Shaw
Fussy eating in toddlers through to teens is due mostly to genetic influences rather than environmental, a recent study finds. The findings may come as a relief to parents who may blame themselves for facilitating their child’s fussy eating habits.
Food fussiness can adversely affect an individual’s physical and mental well-being, potentially leading to nutritional deficiencies and food-related anxiety. It can also have a negative impact on family dynamics, putting pressure on parents to encourage their children to break these habits. This paper is the first study of its kind to concentrate exclusively on the trajectory of fussy eating for over a decade.
Researchers from UCL, King’s College London, and the University of Leeds explored how genetics and environment affect food fussiness from toddlerhood through early adolescence. They analysed data from 2,402 families with twins born in England and Wales between March and December 2007, based on a questionnaire filled out by parents at 16 months, three, five, seven, and 13 years old.
Environmental and genetic influences were studied by comparing non-identical twins (who share 50% of their genes) and identical twins (who share 100%). The assumption was that fussy eating behaviours are influenced more by genetics if they are observed more frequently in identical twins compared to non-identical twins, as identical twins are essentially genetic clones of each other.
Food fussiness at all ages was found to be under strong genetic influence. Genetic differences accounted for 60% of the variation in food fussiness at 16 months and 74-84% from the ages of 3 to 13. An increase in fussy eating was observed from 16 months to 7 years, with a slight decline from 7 to 13 years. Indicating that food fussiness is likely not just a ‘phase’.
These findings “come as a relief to a lot of parents and carers” as “they do feel that blame and guilt surrounding their child’s eating habits”, says Dr Zeynep Nas, a research fellow in Eating Behaviour Research at UCL and one of the lead authors of this study.
Shared environmental influences (e.g., shared mealtimes) were only significant at 16-months, whereas unique environmental influences (e.g., different peer groups) were found to be more influential in later life. Dr Nas expressed how parents shouldn’t lose hope, as these large environmental influences observed at the toddler stage highlight that “genes aren’t destiny” at this point. She discussed that parents could support their children by encouraging “repeated exposure to foods that a child might be nervous about or more reluctant to try”.
Data included in this study over-represented white British households of higher socio-economic backgrounds. Replication of this study with a more diverse population would aid in establishing if fussy eating habits differ between different cultures or socio-economic backgrounds.
Dr Nas emphasises that although these results are promising, they are still very broad and are not discussing specific genes. Hopefully future research may be able to uncover the specific genes causing fussy eating behaviours. There is also a need to “expand this work to adolescence but also looking at adult samples” to further inform on the trajectory of fussy eating in later life.
kinesismagazine.com 