新奇事件簿 研究发现孩子不吃青菜原因（在线收听）

Everyone knows that many young children don't like eating their greens. Parents have a hard time getting their children to eat vegetables like broccoli and Brussel sprouts. A new study may have an answer about why this is. The study looked at the eating habits of two- to four-year-olds. It found that not liking greens is because of a child's genes. This means parents do not have to stress out over their children not eating enough vegetables. Many parents worry because they cannot get their children to eat healthily. The study found that changes in two genes can make children dislike greens. The changes put some youngsters off trying new food and can turn them into fussy eaters.

每个人都知道，许多小孩子不喜欢吃青菜。家长们总是煞费苦心地让孩子吃花椰菜和布鲁塞尔豆芽等蔬菜。一项最新研究对这种现象可能给出了答案。这项研究查看了2到4岁幼儿的饮食习惯。研究发现，不喜欢吃青菜是由于儿童的基因。这意味着家长不必因为孩子没有摄入足够的青菜而倍感压力。许多家长因为没让孩子吃得更健康而担心。这项研究发现，两个基因的改变会让孩子们不喜欢青菜。这些改变让一些幼儿不想尝试新食物，导致他们挑食。

The study found that changes in DNA can affect how some small children taste things differently. These children think many green vegetables taste very bitter. Children without the DNA changes do not think these vegetables are bitter. Natasha Cole, a member of an obesity prevention program at Illinois University, said it was not surprising some children have very a sensitive taste. She said this makes them think things like broccoli are bitter. She said the new research could help to find new ways of tackling childhood obesity. Ms Cole says there needs to be more research. She said: "There is a huge gap in the research when children [move] from a milk-based diet to foods that the rest of the family eats."

这项研究发现，DNA的改变会影响一些幼儿对食物的不同味觉。这些儿童认为许多青菜味道很苦。没有这种DNA改变的人不会觉得青菜是苦的。伊利诺伊大学一个肥胖预防项目成员Natasha Cole表示，一些儿童的味觉非常敏感，这并不奇怪。她说，这让他们认为花椰菜等蔬菜是苦的。她说，这项新的研究找出了解决儿童肥胖问题的新途径。Cole女士表示，现在还需要更多研究。她说：“关于何时儿童可以从牛奶口味的食品转向家里其他人喜欢吃的食品，还需要很多研究。”