Research finds large increase in fast-food intake among teens

(March 30, 2009) — University of Minnesota Project Eating Among Teens (EAT) researcher Katherine Bauer, M.S., found a significant increase in the amount of fast food that adolescents are eating today compared with the late 1990s. She also discovered increases in the amount of fast food the adolescents ate as they moved from middle school to high school, and in male adolescents as they moved from high school into young adulthood.

Using data from Project EAT, a study of more than 2,500 Twin Cities adolescents, Bauer found a striking increase in the frequency with which high school aged girls ate fast food from 1999 to 2004. In 2004, 27 percent of high school girls reported eating fast food more than three times per week, compared with only 19 percent in 1999.

High school vs. middle school

Her research also found that the percentage of teenagers eating fast food three or more times a week nearly doubled as the teens moved from middle school to high school. While in middle school, 16 percent of female and 17 percent of male study participants reported eating fast food three or more times a week. As high school students, 27 percent of the female and 30 percent of the male study participants ate fast food that often. Both groups fast food intake increased further as they moved into young adulthood; one-third of the male and female study participants reporting eating fast food three or more times a week.

“The increases in fast food intake seen between 1999 and 2004 are likely due to changes in our communities and society,” Bauer said. “The number of fast food outlets is increasing at an alarming rate, and those restaurants are frequently located near schools or other places where adolescents have easy access to them. Families are also busy and fast food restaurants offer quick and inexpensive, but often non-nutritious, meals.”

Bauer and her team assessed that as students enter high school, they often have more spending money and independence and easier access to transportation, which may result in them eating fast food for more meals with friends after school or on weekends. Bauer also suggested that males who are graduating from high school may be eating more fast food because they’re living away from home for the first time and may not have the time or skills necessary to cook a meal for themselves.

Differences among groups

This Project EAT research uncovered interesting differences in the amount fast food intake among teens in different demographic and socio-economic groups. Among high school-aged girls, those who reported being either white or Asian, as well as those who were of high socio-economic status, were less likely to report eating fast food frequently compared with girls of other race/ethnicities and girls of low socio-economic status.

Several elements in the lives of these adolescents were found to predict the increases in fast food intake as they moved from middle to high school. For example, boys’ fast food habits were more likely to be predicted by elements of their family and friend networks, such as their mothers encouraging them to eat healthy foods.

Male athletes eat more fast food

And contrary to what might be expected, being on a sports team was associated with large increases in the amount of fast food that high school boys ate. Meanwhile, girls’ food choices were more likely to be motivated by personal factors, such as concern about their weight.

“These findings provide insight as to how we can help teens decrease the amount of fast food they eat and choose more nutritious options,” Bauer said. “Boys on sports teams may be more likely to eat fast food because practices run over dinner time, they’re on the road for games, or they enjoy eating fast food with their friends after practice.”

Families and team coaches may try to explore ways to help these boys eat nutritious meals, instead of fast food, while playing sports. Because girls often tend to base their food choices on personal factors such as weight, it is important for parents to help their daughters engage in healthy ways to control their weight such as eating healthy foods and participating in regular physical activity.

“Fast Food Intake Among Adolescents: Secular and longitudinal trends from 1999 to 2004,” was published in the March issue of Preventative Medicine. Her second paper, entitled “Socio-environmental, personal and behavioral predictors of fast-food intake among adolescents,” was published in the March issue of Public Health Nutrition.