[firefoxman1]

It's really crazy how your eating habits are influenced by your parents. My mother is really into eating really healthy and both I and my sister eat healthier by choice now. I remember when I was really young my mom's friends were impressed that I willingly ate vegetables...they were actually impressed by that! I would always notice the look on my mom's face like "...uh why wouldn't he?" It's really kind of sad that eating your vegetables nowadays is impressive.

[JonnieCache]

Peoples' perception of various tastes vary dramatically, partially through genetic factors (some people are even termed "supertasters,") but also with age. There is research showing that children perceive bitterness especially strongly, and that this attenuates with age.

See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3087510/ Age modifies the genotype-phenotype relationship for the bitter receptor TAS2R38

So when some children say they don't like vegetables, it may not be such an illegitimate claim after all. I personally still cannot stand brussel sprouts, into my mid 20s.

[dgordon]

I never had them until my mid-20s, but apparently a lot of people's only experience of brussels sprouts is boiled to death, which allegedly increases their bitterness. I've had them roasted, and they were reasonably good.

[firefoxman1]

Yeah I've seen a study that showed a gene is traced to a 50/50 of people liking cilantro.