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Topics: Parenting, Food and Drink, Science
Jen Thomas
Topics: Parenting, Food and Drink, Science
If every meal time is turning into a battleground, this could either be the best news ever or the worst.
Maybe you're hoping that fussy eaters are 'just a phase', or are wondering if you did something wrong.
It's common to worry that you're the problem when it comes to parenting, but experts have shared a surprising reason behind pickiness when it comes to food.
While it might not be down to your parenting skills... it might have come from your genes, instead. Sorry.
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Yes, they might have inherited that hatred of sprouts from you or your other half.
Researchers have been looking into the causes of fussy eating, something which causes regular arguments for many families.
There's nothing worse than when you've spent hours lovingly preparing a dinner, only for it to be ignored, refused or thrown on the floor while the miniature version of you demands chicken nuggets instead.
The new research has been published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and was funded by the charity MQ Mental Health research.
Those carrying out the research say fussy eating and pickiness over food is influenced by genes and is a 'stable trait' which - brace yourself - can last from toddlerhood to early teenage years.
Scientists from University College London (UCL), King’s College London and the University of Leeds, examined the causes behind the very common phenomenon which causes many a parent to tear their hair out.
The scientists compared the eating habits of identical or non-identical twins, from the ages of 16 months to 13 years old.
The peak time for fussiness when it comes to food is highest at around the age of seven and declines slightly.
Parental and environmental influences, such as the types of foods that are eaten at home, only had a major impact during toddlerhood.
Individual personal experiences came more into play as they got older.
Dr Zeynep Nas, of UCL, is the lead author of the study and said: “Food fussiness is common among children and can be a major source of anxiety for parents and caregivers, who often blame themselves for this behaviour or are blamed by others.
“We hope our finding that fussy eating is largely innate may help to alleviate parental blame. This behaviour is not a result of parenting. Our study also shows that fussy eating is not necessarily just a ‘phase’, but may follow a persistent trajectory.”
Professor Clare Llewellyn, also of UCL, followed up: “While genetic factors are the predominant influence for food fussiness, environment also plays a supporting role. 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.”
The research involved some 2,400 sets of twins.
In order to find out about fussiness, mums and dads filled in questionnaires about eating habits at key stages in their child's life.
They provided answers at 16 months, three, five, seven, and thirteen years old.
They then compared the answers from non-identical twin pairs, who share 50 percent of their genes, with the results from identical twin pairs, who share 100 percent of their genes.
The breakthrough came when they realised that non-identical twin pairs shared fewer similarities when it came to fussy eating as opposed to the identical twin pairs.
This result was the clue that there is a large genetic influence when it comes to fussy eating.
As the twins aged, environmental factors came into play.
These factors made up around 25% of individual differences by the ages of seven and 13.
Dr Alison Fildes, of the University of Leeds, said: “Although fussy eating has a strong genetic component and can extend beyond early childhood, this doesn’t mean it is fixed.
"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.”