Food Neophobia in Young Adults: Genetic Architecture and Relation to Personality, Pleasantness and Use Frequency of Foods, and Body Mass Index—A Twin Study

Abstract

Food neophobia has been studied extensively in children, but its causal origins and relationship to eating behavior in adults are not well understood. We studied genetic and environmental effects on variation in food neophobia, measured using the Food Neophobia Scale, and explored associations between food neophobia and personality, pleasantness and use frequency of food groups, and body mass index in young adult twins (N = 1175, aged 20-25 years, 54.7% women). In women, additive genetic effects (heritability) accounted for 61% of variation in food neophobia, whereas in men, shared environmental effects explained 45% of the variation. Food neophobia negatively correlated with the personality trait Openness, corrected for the structural overlap (r = -0.23), and in women, these two traits had a genetic correlation (r (g) = -0.39). In addition, food neophobia negatively correlated with pleasantness and use frequency of fruits and vegetables and of fish and with mean pleasantness of foods. Once evolutionarily important, food neophobia should at present be considered in nutrition counseling as a possible barrier to a balanced diet.

Relationship of intake of plant-based foods with 6-n-propylthiouracil sensitivity and food neophobia in Japanese preschool children

“…If food neophobia decreases during late childhood (McFarlane and Pliner, 1997), the null association may be expected in this age group. However, a recent study of young adults aged 20-25 years reported that food neophobia was inversely associated with use frequency of fruits and vegetables (Knaapila et al, 2011).…”

Food neophobia associates with lower dietary quality and higher BMI in Finnish adults

“…Further, food neophobia can refer to the actual, observable behaviour, as well as the trait of an underlying predisposition (tendency) to avoid novel foods. Trait food neophobia resembles personality traits by being rather heritable (3)(4)(5)(6) and stable (7) , and appears to be more resistant to interventions than behavioural food neophobia (8)(9)(10) . Food neophobia protects omnivores against unknown risks, whereas its opposite, seeking novel foods (food neophilia), helps to maximize the advantages of omnivory (1) .…”

Mating strategy, disgust, and food neophobia

“…The FNS is a robust, psychometrically validated, and widely used measure of individuals' willingness to try novel and unfamiliar foods (e.g., Knaapila et al, 2011;Olabi, Najm, Baghdadi, & Morton, 2009;Pliner & Hobden, 1992). The FNS instructs participants to rate their level of agreement with 10 statements such as "I don't trust new foods" and "I am constantly sampling new and different foods" (reverse scored) on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = disagree strongly; 7 = agree strongly).…”