This article in The New York Times about kids who are “picky eaters” is interesting and makes a tacit nod to evolutionary thinking by offering the option that picky eating might have been optimal in the EEA (that is, if you ain’t a picky eater you will put bizarro stuff into your mouth). But, the story could have benefited from the research which suggests that variation in sensitivity to bitter tastes might color a parent’s perception of a child as “picky,” particularly if the parent is the individual who is insensitive while the child is sensitive. Recently I munched on some raw tea leaves. I could taste the mild bitter flavor, but a friend of mine was physically retching from the bitterness. Some of this is likely due to heritable genetic differences, I am a PTC nontaster, a group less likely to be bitter sensitive. But there is also the gene-environment correlation aspect, I have spent many of the past 20 years increasing my tolerance of hot peppers to extreme levels through graduated escalation, exaggerating my relative insensitivity to capsaicin. Who knows if this rubbed off on other aspects of my taste perception?
Related:
Taste & behavior genetics, Genetics of taste, PTC taste, balancing selection?, PTC, part II and Slow and diverse food.
Posted by razib at 07:17 PM