Fussy eating has its roots in genetics, researchers find

Children described as ‘fussy eaters’ are likely to be so from toddlerhood to adolescence, researchers from UCL, King’s College London and the University of Leeds have found, and this ‘fussiness’ has its roots in genetics. 

Food fussiness describes the tendency to eat a small range of foods, due to selectivity about textures or tastes, or reluctance to try new foods.

To reach their findings the researchers compared survey results of parents with identical or non-identical twins in England and Wales from the ages of 16 months to 13 years, finding that average levels of food fussiness were relatively stable during this period, peaking somewhat around the age of seven and declining slightly after that.

They concluded that genetic differences in the population accounted for 60 per cent of the variation in food fussiness at 16 months, rising to 74 per cent and over between the ages of three years and 13 years.

Environmental factors shared between twins, such as the types of foods that are eaten at home, were found to be significant only in toddlerhood, while environmental factors unique to each twin (i.e., not shared by co-twins), such as individual personal experiences (e.g., having different friends), became more influential in later years.

Sharing the findings in the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry Dr Moritz Herle, Lecturer at the Social, Genetic & Developmental Psychiatry Centre at King’s College London and one of the study’s lead authors said fussy eating is a common behaviour during childhood, and often causes a lot of stress for the children and their families. 

“Our research indicates that fussy eating can be largely attributed to genetic factors, which hopefully will help to alleviate some of the blame directed at parents,” Dr Herle said. 

Lead author Dr Zeynep Nas agreed saying, “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.”

“Our study also shows that fussy eating is not necessarily just a ‘phase’, but may follow a persistent trajectory.”

“We hope our finding that fussy eating is largely innate may help to alleviate parental blame. This behaviour is not a result of parenting.”

Despite the genetic component, senior author Professor Clare Llewellyn said the 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.”

In future, the team said, research should focus on non-western populations where food culture, parental feeding practices and food security may be quite different.

The study involved researchers at UCL Behavioural Science & Health, the University of Leeds, King’s College London, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and the University of Cambridge. 

Access Nature and nurture in fussy eating from toddlerhood to early adolescence: findings from the Gemini twin cohort here.