Fussy eating largely down to genes and not parenting, scientists say

Parents who find themselves exasperated by their child's fussy eating, take heart: the refusal to tuck into a broader range of foods is largely down to their genes rather than parenting, scientists say.

- Ian Sample

Researchers investigated eating habits in toddlers to teenagers and found that on average, fussiness over food changed little from 16 months to 13 years old. There was a minor peak in pickiness at seven years, then a slight decline thereafter.

When they looked into the drivers of fussy eating, DNA emerged as the dominant factor. Genetic variation in the population explained 60% of the differences in pickiness at 16 months, rising to 74% and more from three to 13 years old, the study found.