In a study published in the Journal of Physiology and Behaviour, scientists compiled food questionnaires for the mothers of 103 pairs of identical twins and 111 pairs of non-identical twins between four and five years old.
As the identical twins are genetically the same and the non-identical twins share about half of the same genes, the results demonstrate the difference between hereditary and environmental influences.
There was a high level of agreement between the identical twins over which meat and fish they preferred, but less similarity of taste when it came to vegetables and puddings. The results also indicate that girls are more likely to enjoy vegetables than boys.
Professor Jane Wardle, of Cancer Research UK's health behaviour unit, who led the study, said, 'Finding out about why children like and dislike foods is important in helping us understand the problems of obesity. Childhood obesity can lead to a number of health problems in later life, including cancer.'
