Why Do Teens Eat So Much Fast Food?

I wonder if there's any social aspect to teens eating at fast food locations.

I remember meeting friends at fast food restaurants when I was in my teens because it felt like such an adult thing to do.

Brian

A few years ago, I was asking the CEO of a game company why one of their most popular characters was a gorgeous woman armed to the teeth with firearms. I was wondering what it said about teenage boys to be attracted to such a character. The CEO told me that there wasn't anything deep - the teenage boys like sexy women and liked guns, so they liked them together too...

So... I don't overanalyze teenagers anymore. I'd guess teens like fast food places because the food is hot, salty, tasty and cheap.

I was a donut hound, myself. I'd have a half dozen maple bars and look for more.

i think its part rebellion, part social, and part convenience. i remember when i was a fast food junkie (i'm 23)- my mom always wanted me to eat her food, but i would eat before i got home just to spite her. most of my friends would meet up at taco bell or mcd's so we'd most likely eat there. sometimes it was just convenient that on the way home from my part time job i'd just pick something up instead of eating mom's left overs... dont really think about fat and calories when there's so much other stuff going on!

Also fast food is still the cheapest food out there (at least restaurant-style) so it provides a cheap social activity--you can stay for hours for the cost of a biggie fry! I remember being thrilled that the local Arby's was open until midnight b/c I could go there with my friends and stay until my curfew.

Someone actually paid for this study? They could have asked any of us for free. How hard is it to figure out tasty + free?

Good point Jarrett. Funny how teens (and college students, come to think of it) eat more junk food when it's on someone else's dime. I remember sitting through a lot of dull club meetings just because they provided free pizza.

Here's another "Why do...?" which answers the question about fast food -

Why do food companies add MSG to foods?

There are several reasons:

MSG tricks your tongue into making you think a certain food is high in protein and thus nutritious. It is not a "meat tenderizer". It is not a "preservative". The food industry is trying to confuse the issue by focusing on the "fifth" taste sense they call umami. Free glutamic acid is detected by the taste buds as a simple way to signal the presence of protein in a food, just as there are fat receptors to detect fats and receptors that sense carbohydrate or sweet flavors. The purpose is to help us discern real food from inedible matter. It changes your perception of not simply taste but the nutritious qualities of what you put into your mouth. However, and here is the main problem with free glutamic acid - It is the very same neurotransmitter that your brain and many organs including your ears, eyes, nervous system and pancreas in your body use to initiate certain processes in your body.

MSG stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin. So many diets these days are concerned about the Glycemic Index of foods and yet none of them address the fact that MSG and free glutamic acid stimulate the pancreas to release insulin when there doesn't even have to be carbohydrates in the food for that insulin to act on. The food industry has found their own "anti-appetite suppressant". It's a convenient way to keep consumers coming back for more. The blood sugar drops because of the insulin flood. And you are hungry an hour later. Sound familiar?

The body changes excess glutamate to GABA. GABA may be addictive. It is calming and affects the same receptors in the brain as valium.

Cost. The illusion created by adding MSG to a food product enables the food processor to add LESS real food. The illusion of more protein in a food allows the food producer to put LESS protein in it. The consumer perceives the product - say chicken soup - to have more chicken in it than is actually there. Example: A well-known brand of dehydrated chicken noodle soup. Is that chicken in there, or a piece of confetti?

I think it's interesting that they always ate roughly the same amount of calories. All the talk about eating off smaller plates to make portions seem bigger, all the adult "tricks" to satisfy yourself, when the net net is that you should listen to your body. Regardless of the presentation, it seems that the teens all stopped eating when they were full. Eat only when you are hungry and stop when you are no longer hungry. That's better advice than the thousands of dieting tricks out there.

(Remembering nostalgically my 97 lb teenage days when nothing I ate made me gain an ounce, and I thought I was immortal.....)

Because they can!

Kallash wrote:

Why do food companies add MSG to foods?

...

Cost. The illusion created by adding MSG to a food product enables the food processor to add LESS real food. The illusion of more protein in a food allows the food producer to put LESS protein in it. The consumer perceives the product - say chicken soup - to have more chicken in it than is actually there. Example: A well-known brand of dehydrated chicken noodle soup. Is that chicken in there, or a piece of confetti?

A Chinese friend of mine made a wonderful and wholesome lunch that included stir-fried broccoli and garlic. She added MSG and salt to the dish, and both contributed to the taste. And, parmesan cheese - the real thing, grana padana, which i adore - is brimming with free glutemate.

As a teenager I can tell you the reasons I still visit places like McDonalds and KFC and Pizza Hut and the numerous other fast food places despite the fact I'm trying to eat healthily :
* They're cheap - most of us don't have huge budgets so it's good to get something to eat and still have money for a round or the cinema afterwards.
* They're open late - When you're walking/stumbling out of a club most restaurants aren't open, let alone willing to take you in, also it means after you've finished whatever you're doing for that night you can grab something to eat.
* It's pickable food. It's something you can casually eat and still be in conversation and gives you something to fiddle with (fries, nuggets etc)
* Fast food places are usually more casual too
.. the list is endless, the base line simply being, they're more conveniant on the whole for your life, even if they're not for your arteries or waist lines.

I can understand why naturally lean and active teens eat fast food all the time--it tastes great and it's cheap. But now that teens are getting fatter, and, especially for girls, feeling unattractive because of it, I'm surprised more of them aren't making the connection and laying off it a bit.

There's a high school near us, and it's sad to see these obese kids scarfing down entire pizzas as a single portion.

I know impulse control is difficult at that age, but its still kind of blows me away that they can be so indifferent--not to their health, 'cause I'd expect that, but to their appearance. These are kids that will pay $200 for a pair of jeans, so I know they care about what they look like.

Ah, youth.

We need to remember that the "teen" demographic includes many different psychographics. For example, many people in this age group are clearly against mistreating animals. After they watch videos like those at Kentucky Fried Cruelty, their perceptions change like anyone else's. I have high hopes that "teens" will wake up to being manipulated by large fast food corporations and make their health important.

Most teens are not yet prepared to embrace responsibility and are not concerned with health for that matter. They may be concious about their body but some don't spare time to learn more about healthy eating.

Fast food is fast and delicious....no denying that. Teenagers won't really go by the health routine unless it's drilled into them long before that.