Understanding how food preferences develop can help parents teach kids to enjoy a diverse, varied and healthy diet.<\/p>\n
Nature vs. nurture?<\/p>\n
Are genes to blame in the case of picky eaters like Billy? While genes can have some influence, they often explain only a small part of the story. <\/p>\n
People are born liking the taste of sweet and disliking the taste of bitter<\/a>. These traits are thought to be protective in that they can help drive someone toward sources of calories \u2013 which are often sweet, such as fruits or breast milk \u2013 and away from potential toxins or poisons, which are often bitter. As an example of these innate preferences, one study found that pregnant moms who consumed sweet carrot capsules had babies who smiled on the ultrasound<\/a>, while those who ingested bitter kale capsules had babies who grimaced for the camera, suggesting early on their dislike for bitter vegetables.<\/p>\n Dinner was not a hit. In addition to these innate responses, there are genes that affect your ability to taste bitter compounds<\/a>. These compounds, called thioureas, are similar to those found in cruciferous vegetables. People who inherit genes that make them sensitive to these bitter compounds \u2013 about 70% of the U.S. population<\/a> \u2013 tend to also be more sensitive to other bitter tastes<\/a> in foods. Because of this, they may dislike foods such as raw broccoli, black coffee and grapefruit. <\/p>\n However, there are plenty of people who develop a liking for bitter foods, even though their first experience with them might have been unpleasant. Case in point, the growing popularity of bitter IPA beers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another gene that can influence food preferences is the gene that makes cilantro taste soapy<\/a>. Those born with a version of this olfactory gene \u2013 up to 20% of the U.S. population \u2013 are sensitive to aldehyde compounds that tend to taste soapy. Because of this taste, they often dislike cilantro. <\/p>\n Pavlov and food preferences<\/p>\n While genes by themselves explain only a small part of taste, a person\u2019s interactions with food in the environment are particularly influential when it comes to what they want for dinner.<\/p>\n Ivan Pavlov was a 19th-century experimental physiologist who showed that dogs could be taught to salivate at the sound of a bell. He put them through a conditioning period<\/a> in which mealtime was repeatedly paired with the sound of a bell. Most pets have some ability to learn to associate environmental cues \u2013 such as a food bowl or the sound of their owners\u2019 commands \u2013 with food. <\/p>\n In the early 1980s, psychologist Leann Birch<\/a> conducted a series of studies showing that people develop food preferences using a process similar to Pavlov\u2019s classical conditioning. When the taste of a food is associated with positive experiences<\/a> \u2013 such as an influx of calories, release of reward chemicals in the brain or the pleasing tones of a mother\u2019s voice \u2013 these positive experiences can enhance how much a person likes a food. On the other side of the coin, negative experiences, such as a painful stomachache or a punishment associated with eating a food \u2013 \u201cYou have to eat all of your vegetables or no screen time!”\u2013 can often decrease how much someone likes a food. <\/p>\n Babies even begin learning about food before they are born. In a classic study by biopsychologist Julie Mennella<\/a>, pregnant moms who drank carrot juice four days a week during their pregnancy or while breastfeeding had babies who were more accepting of carrot-flavored cereal when it was first presented to them. Flavors that are passed through amniotic fluid<\/a> to the developing fetus prime the future baby to accept the cuisine of the family.<\/p>\n Supportive food environments can encourage kids to expand their palate. Hope for picky eaters<\/p>\n The good news is that for most children, picky eating is a phase that tends to decline as they reach school age<\/a>. And if children are growing at a healthy pace, it\u2019s often not something to be too concerned about. <\/p>\n![\"Child](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/file-20260219-66-3l2hqj.jpg\")
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