--- title: "Adolescent purchasing at McDonald's and Subway. | Sutter Health" description: "To assess whether adolescents purchasing food at a restaurant marketed as healthy(Subway) purchase fewer calories than at a competing chain (McDonalds)." url: "https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/adolescent-purchasing-at-mcdonalds-and-subway-1055312650" --- 1. [Home](https://www.sutterhealth.org/) / 2. [Research](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research) / 3. [Research publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications) / 4. Adolescent purchasing at McDonald's and Subway. # Adolescent purchasing behavior at McDonald's and Subway. Lesser LI, Kayekjian K, Velasquez P, Tseng CH, Brook RH, & Cohen DA. _J Adolescent Health 53(4):441-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.02.014. Epub 2013 May 6._ 2013-05-06 ## Abstract ****PURPOSE:**** 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. [PubMed abstract](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Adolescent+Purchasing+Behavior+at+McDonald%E2%80%99s+and+Su) ## Research topics - [Child and Adolescent Health](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?query=%22%5C%22Child+and+Adolescent+Health%5C%22%22) - [Obesity](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?query=%22%5C%22Obesity%5C%22%22) ## Related publications [View all publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?verticalKey=research_publication) - Publication ### [Differing views regarding diet and physical activity: adolescents versus parents' perspectives.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/diet-and-exercise-obese-teens-and-parent-views-1055312773) Azar KMJ, Halley M, Lv N, Wulfovich S, Gillespie K, Liang L, Goldman Rosas L. 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Laryngoscope. 120(5):1077. doi: 10.1002/lary.20882. 2010 May 01 [View all publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?verticalKey=research_publication) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalOrganization","name":"Sutter Health","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/#medicalorganization","url":"https://www.sutterhealth.org","logo":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/static/images/sutter-health-logo.svg","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"2200 River Plaza Drive","addressLocality":"Sacramento","addressRegion":"CA","postalCode":"95833","addressCountry":"US"},"areaServed":{"@type":"AdministrativeArea","name":"California"},"sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/SutterHealth","https://www.instagram.com/sutterhealth/","https://x.com/SutterHealth","https://www.youtube.com/sutterhealth","https://www.linkedin.com/company/sutter-health","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter_Health"]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/adolescent-purchasing-at-mcdonalds-and-subway-1055312650#breadcrumblist","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Research","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Research publications","item":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Adolescent purchasing at McDonald's and Subway."}]} ``` ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"MedicalScholarlyArticle","@id":"https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/adolescent-purchasing-at-mcdonalds-and-subway-1055312650#medicalscholarlyarticle","name":"Adolescent purchasing behavior at McDonald's and Subway.","headline":"Adolescent purchasing at McDonald's and Subway.","abstract":"PURPOSE: 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 \u003c .01) and from side dishes (i.e., French fries or potato chips; 201 at McDonald's vs. 35 at Subway, p \u003c .01). In contrast, they purchased fewer cups of vegetables at McDonald's (.15 vs. .57 cups, p \u003c .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. 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