10/11/2007

Picky eating is genetic

A new twins study from UK suggests picky eating is 78% genetic. The remaining 22% influence is from raising genetically similar kids differently within the same household. So, if you raise genetically unrelated kids in the same household, they're no more likely to be similarly picky (or not) than if they'd been raised in different households.
I always believe my kids' pickiness is my fault for failing to shop or cook properly. Now I think my kids' pickiness is my fault for giving them picky genes.

2 comments:

John A Hill said...

We always thought that are kids' tastes came from being exposed to many different foods. I guess it comes from that fact that neither of us is a picky eater!
Either way, life is much simpler when we all enjoy experiencing new flavor sensations.

Bilbo said...

My granddaughter is the world's premier picky eater...if it isn't "mac and cheese" (the Kraft kind, from the recognizable box) or chicken nuggets, she won't eat it. It can't be genetic, at least on my side of the family, because most of us will eat anything that doesn't move fast enough to escape. And the twin thing doesn't apply, either. I think it also has a lot to do with the examples of picky eatership she sees around her.