Being a picky eater can mean a number of different things. It may describe someone who doesn't like to try new foods, or someone who prefers plain meals. It can also refer to someone who eats quite a narrow range of foods. It's quite common for children to be picky eaters. They may only like their pasta without sauce, or their bread cut in a certain shape. Parents often feel they're to blame when their children are picky eaters. But according to a new study, picky eating is mostly caused by our genes. Researchers in the UK looked at data from identical and non-identical twins who had been followed from birth since 2007. Identical twins share 100% of their genes, while non-identical twins share half, on average. Studying these twins allowed the researchers to compare the eating habits of people who were genetically the same and those who weren't, but still grew up in the same home together. More than 4,800 twins were included in the study. Their parents completed questionnaires about how picky their children were aged 16 months, then again at the ages of 3, 5, 7 and 13. Not all parents completed the questionnaires as their children got older, but from the results, the researchers found that the eating habits of identical twins were much more similar than those of non-identical twins. They also found that genetic variation explained 60% of the differences in food pickiness at 16 months, and 74% between the ages of 3 and 13. Meanwhile, shared environment only explained 15% to 26% of these differences, and the environmental effect was strongest when children were younger. However, the researchers added that environmental effects are still important: parents can still influence their children's eating habits by eating together as a family, and by offering a wide variety of different foods, for example.