Adolescents are more likely to overeat when served fast food, but lean adolescents tend to compensate for the over-consumption by eating less at other meals, which is not something their overweight counterparts are likely to do, according to a study in the June 16 issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
"Consumption of fast food has increased rapidly since the 1970s among adolescents from all socioeconomic and racial/ethnic groups across the United States," the authors provide as background information in the article. "An estimated 75 percent of adolescents eat fast food one or more times per week. The increase in fast food consumption parallels the escalating obesity epidemic, raising the possibility that these 2 trends are causally related," the authors suggest. "Characteristics of fast food previously linked to excess energy intake [overeating] or adiposity [fat] include enormous portion size, high energy density, palatability, excessive amounts of refined starch and added sugars, high fat content, and low levels of dietary fiber."
In this study, Cara B. Ebbeling, Ph.D., from Children's Hospital, Boston, and colleagues conducted two studies to evaluate the effects of fast food on energy intake in overweight versus lean adolescents. Fifty-four adolescents were enrolled in the studies (26 overweight, 28 lean) aged 13 to 17 years who reported eating fast food at least one time per week. Fifty-one (24 overweight, 27 lean) of the 54 participants enrolled in study 1 also completed study 2. In this investigation, the researchers grouped adolescents who were overweight and at risk of overweight into one group and adolescents with a BMI [body mass index = weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters] not exceeding the 85th percentiles for their ages were considered lean.
In study one, participants were fed extra large fast food meals in a food court and instructed to eat as much or as little as desired during the one-hour meal. In study two, the researchers assessed how much food was eaten under free-living conditions for two days when fast food was consumed and two days when it was not consumed. The participants recalled dietary and physical activity on telephone interviews. Data were collected between July 2002 and March 2003.