We have completed maintenance on DiscoverMagazine.com and action may be required on your account. Learn More

Darwin vs. Brussels Sprouts

By Jocelyn Selim
Jan 2, 2004 6:00 AMNov 12, 2019 6:23 AM

Newsletter

Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news
 

Getting a kid to eat vegetables may not just feel like a life-or-death battle; it may once have been one, say psychologists Lucy Cooke and Leigh Gibson of Cancer Research UK and University College London. The duo polled 564 mothers of 2- to 6-year-olds and found that the fussier the kid, the less meat, fruit, and vegetables he or she ate, even though there was no difference in the consumption of other foods such as bread, potatoes, and cereal.

Gibson sees a pattern: “We think it’s an evolved response left over from times when toxins from eating the wrong plant or contaminated meat posed a very real threat.” So are vegetable-shy kids more evolved than their salad-loving peers? “Unfortunately, in today’s processed-food environment, it’s a maladaptive behavior that puts kids at risk of malnutrition,” Gibson says. “But I think we’d have to wait an awfully long time to see the results of evolution swing the other way.”

1 free article left
Want More? Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

1 free articleSubscribe
Discover Magazine Logo
Want more?

Keep reading for as low as $1.99!

Subscribe

Already a subscriber?

Register or Log In

More From Discover
Recommendations From Our Store
Shop Now
Stay Curious
Join
Our List

Sign up for our weekly science updates.

 
Subscribe
To The Magazine

Save up to 40% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine.

Copyright © 2024 Kalmbach Media Co.