Researchers at Philadelphia's Monell Chemical Senses Center, a scientific institute dedicated to the study of smell and taste, have found that this same gene also predicts the strength of sweet-tooth cravings among children. Variants of the TAS2R38 gene, for example, have been found to encode for taste receptors that determine how strongly someone tastes bitter flavors. Part of the pickiness can be attributed to specific genes that govern taste. Studies show that genes play a major role in determining who becomes a picky eater, including recent research on a group of 4- to 7-year-old twins. In many cases, mom and dad have only themselves to blame for unwittingly passing on the genes that can govern finicky tastes. Today the complicated science behind picky eating is giving experts plenty of food for thought.
There are also neurological and psychological factors at play. But science also tells us that many people are genetically predisposed to be picky long before they confront their first plate of Brussels sprouts. It's long been known that environment and experience play major roles in shaping an individual's tastes. But some adults are picky eaters too, displaying convoluted food preferences beyond allergies or other dietary restrictions. While children are more likely to turn up their noses at certain foods, they usually grow out of such fussiness.
It's not a family gathering without some good-natured squabbles, and chances are picky eating will be the root of a few this holiday season.
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