Nature and nurture in paediatric food preference.

Abstract

Food preferences strongly predict dietary intake. Understanding the aetiology of food preferences has practical implications for dietary interventions aiming to modifying these traits. However, studies of genetic influences on food preferences are scarce, and limited by sample size and methodology. To quantify genetic and environmental influences on preferences for five empirically derived food groups in young children. Data are from 1343 families with twins participating in the Gemini study, a population-based cohort born in 2007. Parents completed a 115-item food preference questionnaire when their children were 3 years old. Five food groups (fruit, vegetables, protein, dairy and none-core) comprising 56 foods emerged from Principal Components Analysis. Heritability of each food group was estimated using quantitative genetic model-fitting. Heritability was strong for fruits (56%; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 50–62%), vegetables (50%; CI: 45–56%), and protein (49%; CI: 43–56%) and moderate for dairy (32%; CI: 27–37%) and non-core (32%; CI: 27–37%). Shared environmental effects were strong for ‘none-core’ (53%; CI: 48–58%) and ‘dairy’ foods (CI: 50–59%) and moderate for fruits (31%; CI: 25–37%), vegetables (38%; CI: 33–43%) and protein foods (34%; CI: 28–40%). Non-shared environmental effects were small but significant for all five food groups (11–16%). Preferences for food groups are moderately heritable in young children, particularly for ‘fruits’, ‘vegetables’ and ‘protein’ foods. However, shared environmental factors also played an important role, particularly for ‘dairy’ and ’non-core’ foods. Identifying key environmental drivers of food preferences in childhood may aid interventions to increase preference for fruits and vegetables, and reduce preference for less healthy foods.