ArticleJournal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines2025
Nature and nurture in fussy eating from toddlerhood to early adolescence: findings from the Gemini twin cohort.
Article in Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Post-Pandemic Shifts in Sustainable Food Behavior: A Systematic Review of Emerging Consumer Trends.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Effect of cow's milk protein allergy during infancy on eating behavior at 4 years of age: A cohort study.Journal of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition · 2026Article
- Associations between early childhood appetitive traits and dietary diversity in school-age children: a two-year longitudinal follow-up study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Prevalence, Characteristics, and Genetic Architecture of Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Phenotypes.JAMA pediatrics · 2026Article
- Within-Person Changes in Daily Ovarian Hormone Levels Influence Genetic Effects on Emotional Eating in Women.The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between food fussiness and parental feeding behaviors in Chinese children: between- and within-person effects.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Article
- The Bidirectional Relationship Between Picky Eating and Eating Dinner Alone in Japanese Adolescents: A Longitudinal Study Using RI-CLPM.Nutrients · 2025Article
- The Interplay Between Picky Eating, Other Eating Behaviors, and Obesity Indicators in Preschool Children.Food science & nutrition · 2025Article
- Neural responsivity to food cues varies with food fussiness in adolescents.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Parents' use of coercive and indulgent feeding practices for children with avid eating behaviour: an Ecological Momentary Assessment study.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Article
- Eating behaviour and eating disorders in individuals with rare neurodevelopmental variants: current knowledge and future research directions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Helping parents to cope with infant regulatory disorders.Frontiers in child and adolescent psychiatry · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFood fussiness (FF) describes the tendency to eat a small range of foods, due to pickiness and/or reluctance to try new foods. A common behaviour during childhood, and a considerable cause of caregiver concern; its causes are poorly understood. This is the first twin study of genetic and environmental contributions to the developmental trajectory of FF from toddlerhood to early adolescence, and stability and change over time.
methodsParticipants were from Gemini, a population-based British cohort of n = 4,804 twins born in 2007. Parents reported on FF using the Child Eating Behaviour Questionnaire 'FF' scale when children were 16 months (n = 3,854), 3 (n = 2,666), 5 (n = 2,098), 7 (n = 703), and 13 years old (n = 970). A mixed linear model examined the trajectory of FF, and a correlated factors twin model quantified genetic and environmental contributions to variation in and covariation between trajectory parameters. A longitudinal Cholesky twin model examined genetic and environmental influences on FF at each discrete age.
resultsWe modelled a single FF trajectory for all children, which was characterised by increases from 16 months to 7 years, followed by a slight decline from 7 to 13 years. All trajectory parameters were under strong genetic influence (>70%) that was largely shared, indicated by high genetic correlations. Discrete age analyses showed that genetic influence on FF increased significantly after toddlerhood (16 months: 60%, 95% CI: 53%-67%; 3 years: 83%; 81%-86%), with continuing genetic influence as indicated by significant genetic overlap across every age. Shared environmental influences were only significant during toddlerhood. Unique environmental influences explained 15%-26% of the variance over time, with some enduring influence from 5 years onwards.
conclusionsIndividual differences in FF were largely explained by genetic factors at all ages. Fussy eating also shows a significant proportion of environmental influence, especially in toddlerhood, and may, therefore, benefit from early interventions throughout childhood. Future work needs to refine the FF trajectory and explore specific trajectory classes.
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