tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/fussy-eaters-32313/articlesFussy eaters – The Conversation2017-07-04T20:12:00Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/776712017-07-04T20:12:00Z2017-07-04T20:12:00ZCurious Kids: why do some people find some foods yummy but others find the same foods yucky?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/174356/original/file-20170619-28759-1n5rkwo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Blue cheese: either you love it or you hate it. But why?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/susievision/32908081975/in/photolist-S8YwgH-99S2iZ-9uJ3T-4iALt1-5SXBkC-5SThEk-UopYTC-RPQVdQ-RGRQnH-RAFri3-4iwGKV-4Ry37z-iEB19g-94L62y-94H2Fa-sjfy7-4ttKX4-9qUSj9-5Ncsdd-94H38F-a62miM-94H2Ua-apM5wu-94H29i-9Gmahu-QEddqi-bqghDB-eWoMRw-5i3jFF-3hfn8X-9rZVmf-QEdfkR-k2ZTki-eWco9e-9Hzv2K-dGoS12-4x2cXh-eWcnHV-RME7UW-4Gj1Wi-TkXsWz-66eG7E-sV9SX-rkkPMw-5WTP7k-85jd7m-9azWNg-7F5j1W-RXzSg9-7E3dgC">Flickr/Susie Wyshak</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is an article from <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782">Curious Kids</a>, a series for children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome – serious, weird or wacky!</em> </p>
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<p><strong>Why do some people find some foods yummy while others find the same foods taste yucky? – Emilia Bennett, aged 7, and Jessamy Bennett, aged 10.</strong></p>
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<p>Some people love coriander, others hate it. You might like olives, but maybe your dad thinks they’re disgusting. To understand why, you have to delve a little into the science of evolution, chemistry and biology.</p>
<p>Being able to taste helps you choose foods that provide the energy or nutrients your body needs, and avoid eating things that provide no energy, <a href="http://tailgatefan.cbslocal.com/2012/10/01/michel-lotito-the-man-who-ate-an-airplane-and-everything-else/">like a bicycle*</a>. </p>
<p>In other situations, a bad taste can be a warning sign to put down harmful or <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-09/mcsc-bti091206.php">toxic</a> foods. That’s why some poisonous things, like certain wild mushrooms, have a sharp or bitter taste.</p>
<h2>Why do I like blue cheese, but my friends don’t?</h2>
<p>There are many reasons why you may like a food and your friend might not.</p>
<p>The first is your own <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXdzuz5Q-hs">DNA sequence</a>. A DNA sequence is like a recipe that tells your body how to make proteins, which are one of the most important building blocks in your body. </p>
<p>Each person has their own DNA sequence, or recipe, that is different to everyone else. DNA helps determine how you taste and smell and the messages sent to your brain about what’s nice and what’s not. So each of us <a href="https://theconversation.com/blame-it-on-mum-and-dad-how-genes-influence-what-we-eat-45244">taste the flavour of food differently</a>. </p>
<p>Scientists have even worked out that differences in your DNA can affect how you feel about the <a href="http://cheesenotes.com/post/57568828387/latimes-genetic-connection-to-smell">smell of blue cheese</a> (specifically, there’s a chemical called “<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982213008543?via%3Dihub">isovaleric acid</a>” that helps your body decide how it feels about that particular smell). </p>
<p>And you can also blame your DNA for how you feel about the taste of brussels sprouts or <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-taste-or-why-you-choose-fries-over-broccoli-68168">broccoli</a>.</p>
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<p>But it’s not just about what genes you’re born with. It also depends on how familiar you are with the food and if you have eaten it before. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igeUz4cjB5w">Vegemite</a> is a good example, where if you have grown up with it (and if you know that you’re only supposed to eat a little bit at a time), you are more likely to think it tastes nice.</p>
<p>Finally, your <a href="https://www.fona.com/resource-center/blog/11-factors-influencing-taste-perception">environment</a> can impact your choices. If you are feeling unwell or you just ate food, your tastes can change – you might suddenly feel like you just do not want anything spicy or greasy that day.</p>
<p>These three reasons (your DNA, past food experiences and your environment) help decide the foods you like or dislike. </p>
<h2>The foods you like and dislike will change during your life</h2>
<p>Taste preferences start building before you were born, where the food flavours your mum ate were <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7583013">sent to you</a> as you were growing in her womb. This first-taste experience has an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11389286">impact</a> on your food <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/apr/08/child-food-preferences-womb-pregnancy-foetus-taste-flavours">choices in childhood</a>.
But your likes and dislikes are not permanent; as we age, our <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/entertaining-style/trends-news/article/sense-of-taste-changes-aging">taste changes</a>.</p>
<p>We may also learn to like foods that taste yucky by trying them <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-why-kids-dont-like-vegies-and-how-to-change-it-12673">again and again</a> or we can dislike foods when we have a bad experience with them – such as if a bad egg makes you sick and you decide never to eat eggs again, even though you liked them before.</p>
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<p>As you can see, understanding why you like the foods that others find yucky is complicated and there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-taste-or-why-you-choose-fries-over-broccoli-68168">many scientists across the globe trying to understand why.</a></p>
<p>Now you have learnt that tastes can change, remember that the foods you hate now may one day end up being your favourites.</p>
<p>*CSIRO does not condone the eating of bicycles.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em>Please tell us your name, age, and which city you live in. You can send an audio recording of your question too, if you want. Send as many questions as you like! We won’t be able to answer every question but we will do our best.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77671/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Archer does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Taste dictates most food choices, but there’s more to it than just the taste buds on your tongue.Nicholas Archer, Research Scientist, Sensory, Flavour and Consumer Sciences, CSIROLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/713712017-01-20T11:35:35Z2017-01-20T11:35:35ZBribing kids to eat vegetables is not sustainable – here’s what to do instead<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153579/original/image-20170120-5221-mabdha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cash for veg.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-on-money-piggy-bank-purchases-249406468?src=aCAC0rFZrwWho9KMNYipkg-1-36">www.shutterstock.com/Alliance</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How can you get a fussy child to eat vegetables? It’s a question that plagues many frustrated parents at countless mealtimes. Some take to hiding morsels in more delicious parts of meals, while others adopt a stricter approach, refusing to let little ones leave the table until plates are clear.</p>
<p>One “alternative” idea touted recently is for parents to essentially bribe their children, depositing <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4123130/Bribery-works-paying-children-money-eat-greens-halt-obesity-crisis.html#ixzz4VuRSkR7t">money into a child’s bank account as a reward</a> when they eat vegetables – an idea actually backed up by research. </p>
<p>A US study in 2016 showed that the technique continued to encourage primary school age children to eat their greens for up to <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629615001368">two months after these incentives were stopped</a>. Children who were incentivised for a longer period of time were more likely to continue eating vegetables after the deposits ended too. </p>
<p>The core idea here is that, providing children have the cognitive ability to understand the exchange, they will learn to eat healthily as well as learn the value of money. After a while, they will continue eating the food, not because of the reward, but because they will get into the habit of eating healthy. </p>
<p>But one study is really not enough to draw conclusions and suggest action – especially as there was not a control group to compare money with other types of incentives, or no incentive at all. </p>
<p>And monetary incentives can actually <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1971-22190-001">decrease our motivation</a> to perform the activity we are paid for, and eventually we lose interest. So, even if bribing kids with cash to eat their greens works at first, it is not sustainable in the long term. </p>
<p>Non-monetary rewards aren’t much better either. The phrase: “You can have dessert as long as you eat your sprouts”, will ring a bell for most people. This, though said with the best intentions, may increase the intake of the target food in the short term, but can convey the wrong message to its receipents: “This food must be really bad if I am getting something for eating it!”. It not only places dessert as a food of high value – a trophy that is earned – but also teaches kids to dislike the target food.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153584/original/image-20170120-5214-3hid9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/153584/original/image-20170120-5214-3hid9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153584/original/image-20170120-5214-3hid9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153584/original/image-20170120-5214-3hid9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153584/original/image-20170120-5214-3hid9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153584/original/image-20170120-5214-3hid9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/153584/original/image-20170120-5214-3hid9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A familiar sight for many parents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/child-girl-expression-disgust-against-vegetables-253719919">www.shutterstock.com/Oksana Kuzmina</a></span>
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<h2>Better methods</h2>
<p>So what can you do instead? First and foremost, start early. Formation of food preferences <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2014/apr/08/child-food-preferences-womb-pregnancy-foetus-taste-flavours">start in the womb</a>, and the first months of life are crucial in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2678872/">developing eating habits</a>. The older children get, the more exposures they need to a novel vegetable <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1990-27964-001">in order to consume it</a>. Which brings us neatly to the next point.</p>
<p>Vegetables must be offered frequently, without pressure – and you mustn’t get discouraged by the inevitable “no”. Even if you have missed the first window of opportunity, all is not lost. Parents can lose hope after offering the same vegetables between three and five times, but, in reality, toddlers in particular <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14702019">might need up to 15 exposures</a>. </p>
<p>You also need to let your children experience the food with all of their senses – so don’t “hide” vegetables. Yes, sneaking a nutritious veggie into a fussy eater’s food might be one way to get them to eat it, but if the child doesn’t know a cake has courgettes in it, they will never eat courgettes on their own. It can also backfire if children can lose their trust in food when they realise they have been deceived. </p>
<p>Likewise, don’t draw unnecessary attention to specific foods that you might think your child is not going to like. Sometimes our own dislikes get in the way, and create the expectation that our child is not going to like it either. Our food preferences are <a href="https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-22/edition-7/factors-food-choice">formed through previous experiences</a>, which children don’t have. <a href="http://www.sarahremmer.com/praising-at-meals-why-it-may-hinder-rather-than-help/">Praising and bribing are commonly used</a>, especially when we don’t expect children to like the food offered, but it can be counterproductive. Instead, serve food in a positive environment but keep your reactions neutral. </p>
<p>This isn’t just about what is on the plate, it’s about a relationship with food. So if your children are old enough, let them help in the kitchen. It can be very messy and time consuming, but it is an excellent way to create a positive atmosphere around food. </p>
<p>It is also important to have frequent family meals and consume vegetables yourself. It’s been shown that children who eat with family do <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21272701">eat more vegetables</a>. Kids often copy adult behaviours, so set a good example by routinely serving and consuming vegetables.</p>
<p>There is sadly no single answer as to what will work for your children, and it might be a case of trial and error. But these actions can create positive associations with all kinds of foods, and you can help your kids lead healthier lives – saving yourself a bit of cash while you’re at it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophia Komninou does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Here are some tips to get your picky eater into lifelong healthy habits.Sophia Komninou, Lecturer in Infant and Child Public Health, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/671812016-10-18T08:34:12Z2016-10-18T08:34:12ZWhen it comes to food, it’s not helpful to believe in the genetics of behaviour<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141972/original/image-20161017-4740-ih7yvk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don't blame it on the genes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/dl2_lim.mhtml?src=RbpUAAC8Ln5g2pdPCfc0bg-1-3&id=281141207&size=medium_jpg">Anneka/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A recent <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.12647/abstract">study concluded</a> that fussy eating was genetic and that parents shouldn’t be blamed for their children’s eating habits. In the past few decades we have also learned that there are genes for a multitude of physical and mental health conditions and even for behavioural traits such as <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx">ADHD</a> and <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autistic-spectrum-disorder/Pages/Introduction.aspx">ASD</a>. For a few such problems the evidence is clear cut: have the gene for sickle cell or Huntington’s and you will get these diseases. But in the main the evidence is at the level of “predisposition” or “increased risk”. What does this evidence actually mean? Is it useful? And could it even do harm?</p>
<p>We are born with a few inherited food preferences which served us well when food was sparse and obtained through <a href="http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/1/55.full">hunting and gathering</a>. But from the moment we emerge into the world (and probably before) we start to learn what foods we like and don’t like from our environment. We learn through simple exposure, with familiar foods becoming more desirable; we learn by watching our parents, siblings and peers, and we learn from the language used to describe and manage the food we are given. So if we are told “eat your vegetables and you can have ice cream”, we quickly learn that vegetables are boring but ice cream is special. Or if a parent says “now you have done your homework, you can have some cake”, cake will be what we reach for when we need to treat ourselves as adults. </p>
<p>If we only see our parents eating ready meals and fizzy drinks then this is what we will believe is a normal diet and anything else will seem an effort or boring. And, within all this, food takes on many meanings other than hunger. It is a way to manage our emotions. It is central to our social lives and becomes a powerful form of communication. So children often announce random likes and dislikes as a means to disrupt the equilibrium of family life. </p>
<p>Toddlers may throw their broccoli on the floor or shout “I don’t like pasta”. Some refuse to have their food touching the plate while others want everything smothered in ketchup. Perhaps some of these are genetically based. But chances are if parents persist rather than give up, praise children when they try something new, ignore them when they don’t, eat well in front of them and sit them with friends who eat well then, over time, the toddler will no longer be a toddler anymore and will learn how much more rewarding it is to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/10448516/">just fit in with everyone else</a>.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141973/original/image-20161017-4743-omz2mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141973/original/image-20161017-4743-omz2mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141973/original/image-20161017-4743-omz2mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141973/original/image-20161017-4743-omz2mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141973/original/image-20161017-4743-omz2mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141973/original/image-20161017-4743-omz2mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/141973/original/image-20161017-4743-omz2mo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">It’s been a tough day, I deserve a treat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-218425408/stock-photo-ice-cream-shop.html?src=hdQlOuPMtp6ONAMGeiSJLw-1-40">aerogondo2/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
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<h2>Is it useful?</h2>
<p>Research can be blue sky and abstract. But as public sector employees, researchers should also produce research that is useful to society. Genetic data may lead to gene therapy for those rare conditions that have a specific problematic gene. But in the main, the genetics of obesity, diabetes, lung cancer or fussy eating help us to understand why the conditions develop while health recommendations remain the same. Even if you do (or don’t) have a genetic predisposition for lung cancer, doctors will still advise you not to smoke. </p>
<p>Whether or not obesity runs in your family, the advice is the same: eat less and do more. And if your child is genetically a fussy eater I would still suggest the same as I would to any parent: be a good role model, manage their environment and say the right things around food. Don’t collude with their fussy eating by only giving them what they like, telling them and everyone around them that they are a fussy eater and limiting your own diet so that you look like a fussy eater yourself. Knowing it is genetic (or not) may make a parent feel less to blame, but it shouldn’t change what they do about it. And if it does then this knowledge about genetics might even be doing harm.</p>
<h2>Can it do harm?</h2>
<p>The benefit of any genetic model is that it takes away blame. Blame for obesity, diabetes or cancer is not a nice feeling and blame for tricky children can lead to guilt and shame. Yet genetic models also take away responsibility which is necessary if we are to manage our own health and parent effectively. And believing that our children’s behaviour is genetic could do harm if it stops us from taking responsibility for the adults our children will grow up to be. </p>
<p>Fussy eating may have an element of genetics in it. So may any health problem or behaviour. But knowing this is mostly not useful as it doesn’t change how we should behave and what we should be doing to stay well. And publicly telling others that it’s all about genetics may do harm if it stops them from feeling responsible for their own behaviour or their behaviour towards those they are caring for.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67181/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Your child may have the fussy-eater genes, but they should still try different foods.Jane Ogden, Professor of Health Psychology, University of SurreyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.