Are you dealing with a fussy-eating toddler and feeling like it's your fault? A recent study suggests that it might not be about your parenting at all! The researchers found that picky eating is largely influenced by genetics and children with such traits may continue the habit into early adolescence.
Food fussiness is the tendency to eat a small range of foods often due to complaints about textures, tastes, or simple reluctance to try new foods. A child's picky eating can be a major source of frustration for parents, as it makes introducing new foods a struggle and raises concerns about whether they are getting the proper nutrition for healthy growth and development.
The researchers of the latest study published in the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry came up with the findings based on a survey involving parents of 4,804 twins born in England and Wales in 2007. The participants were followed up from when their children were between the ages of 16 months to 13 years.
The survey results indicate that average levels of food fussiness remained relatively stable over time, with a noticeable peak around the age of seven. After this point, there was a slight decline in picky eating behaviors.
"They concluded that genetic differences in the population accounted for 60% of the variation in food fussiness at 16 months, rising to 74% and over between the ages of three and 13," the news release stated.
The researchers noted that shared environmental factors, like the types of foods available at home, were important only during toddlerhood for twins. However, as they got older, unique experiences like having different friends played a bigger role in shaping their eating habits.
"Food fussiness is common among children and can be a major source of anxiety for parents and caregivers, who often blame themselves for this behavior or are blamed by others. We hope our finding that fussy eating is largely innate may help to alleviate parental blame. This behavior 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," said lead author Dr. Zeynep Nas.
So what's the way out? While researchers emphasize that genetic factors largely drive food fussiness, they also note that the environment is supporting. This means that, although you can't change genetics, creating a positive and varied eating environment can still help influence a child's eating habits over time.
"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 vegetable may be most effective in the very early years," said senior author Professor Clare Llewellyn.
