Genetic influences on dietary variety - Results from a twin study

Scheibehenne, Benjamin; Todd, Peter M.; Berg, Stéphanie Martine van den; Hatemi, Peter K.; Eaves, Lindon J.; Vogler, Christian

doi:10.1016/j.appet.2014.03.001

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 73 publications

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“…In particular, it is assumed that disgust prevents an organism from coming in contact with hard‐to‐detect parasites and is therefore sensitive to cues that indicate a risk for pathogenic contamination (Curtis, de Barra, & Aunger, ). In our ancestral past, every unknown food source entailed the risk of eating harmful substances (Clifford & Wendell, ; Nesse, ; Prokop et al., ; Scheibehenne et al., ). Given the burden of low food availability, our ancestors were pressed to find new food sources and eat anything available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Evolution Works Against the Future: Disgust's Contributions to the Acceptance of New Food Technologies

2019

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New food technologies have a high potential to transform the current resource‐consuming food system to a more efficient and sustainable one, but public acceptance of new food technologies is rather low. Such an avoidance might be maintained by a deeply preserved risk avoidance system called disgust. In an online survey, participants (N = 313) received information about a variety of new food technology applications (i.e., genetically modified meat/fish, edible nanotechnology coating film, nanotechnology food box, artificial meat/milk, and a synthetic food additive). Every new food technology application was rated according to the respondent's willingness to eat (WTE) it (i.e., acceptance), risk, benefit, and disgust perceptions. Furthermore, food disgust sensitivity was measured using the Food Disgust Scale. Overall, the WTE both gene‐technology applications and meat coated with an edible nanotechnology film were low and disgust responses toward all three applications were high. In full mediation models, food disgust sensitivity predicted the disgust response toward each new food technology application, which in turn influenced WTE them. Effects of disgust responses on the WTE a synthetic food additive were highest for and lowest for the edible nanotechnology coating film compared to the other technologies. Results indicate that direct disgust responses influence acceptance and risk and benefit perceptions of new food technologies. Beyond the discussion of this study, implications for future research and strategies to increase acceptance of new food technologies are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When Evolution Works Against the Future: Disgust's Contributions to the Acceptance of New Food Technologies

2019

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“…Our results lend increasing support to a growing number of studies that have highlighted the importance of genetic factors across several consumption domains. For example, in a study using middle aged through elderly adults twins, 30% of the variation in individuals' search for variety of food was explained by additive genetic factors (Scheibehenne et al, 2014). Other studies have shown moderate heritable influences in the use of various heuristics and biases ranging from small to large heritable contributions, though estimates differ depending on the size of samples, ages, and nationality of twins (Cesarini et al, 2012;Simonson & Sela, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are identical twins more similar in their decision making styles than their fraternal counterparts?

Saad

Sejean

Greengross

et al. 2020

Journal of Business Research

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Using a twins study paradigm the genetic basis of decision making styles was explored using psychometric scales as well as actual choices. Study 1 compared monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins along the General Decision Making Scale (GDMS) and the Maximizing-Satisficing Inventory (MAX). MZ twins exhibited greater similarity than their DZ counterparts in terms of their overall GDMS scores, three of the GDMS subscales, and the MAX inventory. Study 2 measured key information processing metrics of actual choices that individuals made via a computerized informational display board. MZ twins are more similar to one another than DZ twins when it comes to the extent of information search prior to making a choice. There were no differences between the two groups of twins in terms of the selectivity and pattern of searches. The results of the two studies suggest that individuals' decision making styles are in part shaped by their genes.

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“…Previous twin studies have shown that a strong genetic component defines consumption of some specific foods such as coffee and garlic (Teucher et al, 2007), beverages including soda and alcohol (de Castro, 1993), energy and macronutrient intake (Faith et al, 1999;Hasselbalch et al, 2008;Liu et al, 2013), healthy/unhealthy pattern as well as food liking/disliking (Pallister et al, 2015;Vink et al, 2020), eating behavior (Tholin et al, 2005) and variety in the overall diet (Scheibehenne et al, 2014). However, the full extent of the genetic impact on dietary indices has never been fully explored.…”

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confidence: 99%

Genetic and Environmental Influences of Dietary Indices in a UK Female Twin Cohort

et al. 2020

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A healthy diet is associated with the improvement or maintenance of health parameters, and several indices have been proposed to assess diet quality comprehensively. Twin studies have found that some specific foods, nutrients and food patterns have a heritable component; however, the heritability of overall dietary intake has not yet been estimated. Here, we compute heritability estimates of the nine most common dietary indices utilized in nutritional epidemiology. We analyzed 2590 female twins from TwinsUK (653 monozygotic [MZ] and 642 dizygotic [DZ] pairs) who completed a 131-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Heritability estimates were computed using structural equation models (SEM) adjusting for body mass index (BMI), smoking status, Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), physical activity, menopausal status, energy and alcohol intake. The AE model was the best-fitting model for most of the analyzed dietary scores (seven out of nine), with heritability estimates ranging from 10.1% (95% CI [.02, .18]) for the Dietary Reference Values (DRV) to 42.7% (95% CI [.36, .49]) for the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (A-HEI). The ACE model was the best-fitting model for the Healthy Diet Indicator (HDI) and Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010) with heritability estimates of 5.4% (95% CI [−.17, .28]) and 25.4% (95% CI [.05, .46]), respectively. Here, we find that all analyzed dietary indices have a heritable component, suggesting that there is a genetic predisposition regulating what you eat. Future studies should explore genes underlying dietary indices to further understand the genetic disposition toward diet-related health parameters.

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Genetic influences on dietary variety - Results from a twin study

Cited by 8 publications

References 73 publications

When Evolution Works Against the Future: Disgust's Contributions to the Acceptance of New Food Technologies

When Evolution Works Against the Future: Disgust's Contributions to the Acceptance of New Food Technologies

Are identical twins more similar in their decision making styles than their fraternal counterparts?

Genetic and Environmental Influences of Dietary Indices in a UK Female Twin Cohort

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