title: Adolescent Purchasing Behavior at McDonald's and Subway.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether adolescents purchasing food at a restaurant marketed as "healthy" (Subway) purchase fewer calories than at a competing chain (McDonald's).
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied 97 adolescents who purchased a meal at both restaurants on different days, using each participant as his or her control. We compared the difference in calories purchased by adolescents at McDonald's and Subway in a diverse area of Los Angeles, CA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adolescents purchased an average of 1,038 calories (standard error of the mean [SEM]: 41) at McDonald's and 955 calories (SEM 39) at Subway. The difference of 83 calories (95% confidence interval [CI]: -20 to 186) was not statistically significant (p = .11). At McDonald's, participants purchased significantly more calories from drinks (151 vs. 61, p < .01) and from side dishes (i.e., French fries or potato chips; 201 at McDonald's vs. 35 at Subway, p < .01). In contrast, they purchased fewer cups of vegetables at McDonald's (.15 vs. .57 cups, p < .01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We found that, despite being marketed as "healthy," adolescents purchasing a meal at Subway order just as many calories as at McDonald's. Although Subway meals had more vegetables, meals from both restaurants are likely to contribute to overeating.
authors: Palo Alto Medical Foundation Research Institute, Palo Alto, California. Electronic address: LesserL@pamfri.org.
authors: Lenard I
authors: LI
authors: Lesser
authors: Karen C
authors: KC
authors: Kayekjian
authors: Paz
authors: P
authors: Velasquez
authors: Chi-Hong
authors: CH
authors: Tseng
authors: Robert H
authors: RH
authors: Brook
authors: Deborah A
authors: DA
authors: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D017195:Adolescent Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002140:California; D002648:Child; D002149:Energy Intake; D057140:Fast Foods; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D012147:Restaurants; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adolescents; Fast food; Obesity