If your child is a picky eater, it’s because of his genes!

Green beans, broccoli, carrots… Does your child always turn up his nose at vegetables? Don’t worry, it’s not your fault! According to a new study published in the journal Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatryit is genetics that is at the origin of food selectivity, not education.

Food behavior changes little until age 13

“Food selectivity is common in children and can be a significant source of anxiety for parents and caregivers, who often feel responsible for the behavior or are singled out by others.explains Dr Zeynep Nas, one of the authors, in a press release. We hope that our discovery that food selectivity is largely innate will help reduce parental responsibility. This behavior is not the result of child rearing.”

During their work, the scientists analyzed data from another study, called GeminiThis is the largest cohort of twins ever set up to study, in particular, genetic contributions.

In total, it included 2,400 pairs of twins. Some are monozygotic, meaning they share exactly the same genes, while others are dizygotic and have only 50% of genes in common. During the study, parents reported their children’s eating habits at 16 months, 3 years, 5 years, 7 years and 13 years.

Result: Food selectivity is the same in monozygotic twins, which means that they have the same eating difficulties. On the other hand, in dizygotic twins, this is much less the case. In addition, scientists observed that behavior towards food remained almost the same between 16 months and 13 years, except at 7 years where they observed a peak.

Genetic heritage responsible for 60 to 74% of children’s behavior

But is genetics really the cause of our behaviors toward food? The percentage depends, according to researchers, on age. In children under 16 months, genetic variations are responsible for 60% of the differences in behavior toward food. In those aged 3 to 13 years, this percentage reaches 74%.

As for environmental factors, scientists distinguish two:

• Food education – what parents feed – which only influences eating behavior during early childhood
• Personal experiences (each twin’s own friends), the importance of which increases over the years.

“Although eating disorders have a strong genetic component and can extend beyond early childhood, this does not mean they are fixed.reassures Dr. Alison Fildes, another author of the study. Parents can encourage their children to eat a wide variety of foods throughout childhood and adolescence, but during adolescence, acquaintances and friends may have a greater influence on their eating.”