Is Picky Eater Influenced By Genetics? This Is What Studies Say
JAKARTA - Some people are very picky about the food they consume, known as picky ether or food voters. This habit turns out to be affected by several things, one of which is genetic.Picky ether is a habit that is influenced by genetics. This was revealed by research conducted by researchers from University College London (UCL), Kings College London, and University of Leeds. We want to emphasize that such behavior is not caused by poor parenting. The differences we see among children in terms of choosing food are mostly caused by genetic differences among them, said Zeynep Nas, PhD, researchers from UCL, as reported by Parents, on Monday, January 6. The study was carried out by comparing data from 4,804 children born in 2007. The study observed in terms of food selection between non-identical twin brothers who usually have 50 percent of the same gene, and identical twin brothers who have 100 percent of the same gene. The data were collected with a series of questionnaires requested to be filled by the parents of the twin child. Through the data it was obtained that children with non-identical twin relatives were lower into picky ether, whereas children with identical twins tended to be more picky against their food, which was also influenced by their parents who were food voters. Based on the percentage of their research data, as many as 60 percent of children became voters when eating after stepping on uia for more than 16 months. However, that number increased by 74 percent in children aged 3 to 13 years.Dr. Clare Llewellyn from UCL also mentioned that the influence of voters when eating was related to genetics and parental habits. If parents sort out food and environments built by choice, then the impact of children being food voters is also getting bigger.