BACKGROUND: Little is known about the decision-making process of adults who choose to eat at fast-food restaurants. Impulsivity is the concept that individuals value immediate rewards and disregard future costs. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between impulsivity and consumption of fast food among employed adults and to explore their reasons for eating fast food. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted; participants were recruited using a mass electronic mailing. PARTICIPANTS/ SETTING: Four hundred seventy-eight adults employed in a university setting completed the survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The association between frequency of fast-food consumption and impulsivity was assessed. Impulsivity is assessed by the area under the delay discounting curve (AUC). The AUC is estimated by using a binary choice delay discounting task incorporating hypothetical monetary rewards. Greater AUC reflects lower impulsivity. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Analysis of variance, Student's t tests, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to measure unadjusted associations among demographic variables, fast-food consumption, and AUC. Linear regression was used to assess whether AUC was a significant predictor of having consumed fast food in the past 7 days, controlling for age, total household income, and education. RESULTS: The majority (67%) of the participants reported eating one or more meals from a fast-food restaurant or pizza place in the past 7 days. The mean number of meals was 2.8±2.5 per week among those who reported eating at a fast-food restaurant or pizza place. Both fast-food consumption and body mass index (BMI) were correlated with greater impulsivity. Controlling for age, total household income, and education level, fast-food consumption was negatively related to AUC (P=0.017). The most commonly reported reasons for consuming fast food were convenience and to socialize. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that greater impulsivity was associated with greater fast-food consumption. Successful efforts to encourage healthful dietary behaviors might emphasize methods to overcome impulsivity, such as reward substitution and precommitment.
BACKGROUND: Little is known about the decision-making process of adults who choose to eat at fast-food restaurants. Impulsivity is the concept that individuals value immediate rewards and disregard future costs. OBJECTIVE: To determine the association between impulsivity and consumption of fast food among employed adults and to explore their reasons for eating fast food. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, online survey was conducted; participants were recruited using a mass electronic mailing. PARTICIPANTS/ SETTING: Four hundred seventy-eight adults employed in a university setting completed the survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The association between frequency of fast-food consumption and impulsivity was assessed. Impulsivity is assessed by the area under the delay discounting curve (AUC). The AUC is estimated by using a binary choice delay discounting task incorporating hypothetical monetary rewards. Greater AUC reflects lower impulsivity. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Analysis of variance, Student's t tests, and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to measure unadjusted associations among demographic variables, fast-food consumption, and AUC. Linear regression was used to assess whether AUC was a significant predictor of having consumed fast food in the past 7 days, controlling for age, total household income, and education. RESULTS: The majority (67%) of the participants reported eating one or more meals from a fast-food restaurant or pizza place in the past 7 days. The mean number of meals was 2.8±2.5 per week among those who reported eating at a fast-food restaurant or pizza place. Both fast-food consumption and body mass index (BMI) were correlated with greater impulsivity. Controlling for age, total household income, and education level, fast-food consumption was negatively related to AUC (P=0.017). The most commonly reported reasons for consuming fast food were convenience and to socialize. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that greater impulsivity was associated with greater fast-food consumption. Successful efforts to encourage healthful dietary behaviors might emphasize methods to overcome impulsivity, such as reward substitution and precommitment.
Authors: Kaileigh A Byrne; Stephanie G Six; Reza Ghaiumy Anaraky; Maggie W Harris; Emma L Winterlind Journal: PLoS One Date: 2021-05-13 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Bradley M Appelhans; Christy C Tangney; Simone A French; Melissa M Crane; Yamin Wang Journal: Health Psychol Date: 2019-04 Impact factor: 4.267
Authors: Ilana G Raskind; Michelle C Kegler; Amy Webb Girard; Anne L Dunlop; Michael R Kramer Journal: Health Place Date: 2020-10-06 Impact factor: 4.078
Authors: Warren K Bickel; Liqa N Athamneh; Julia C Basso; Alexandra M Mellis; William B DeHart; William H Craft; Derek Pope Journal: Curr Opin Psychol Date: 2019-02-06
Authors: Jianjun Tang; Oliver J Chrzanowski-Smith; George Hutchinson; Frank Kee; Ruth F Hunter Journal: Int J Obes (Lond) Date: 2018-11-27 Impact factor: 5.095
Authors: Jeffrey S Stein; William H Craft; Rocco A Paluch; Kirstin M Gatchalian; Mark H Greenawald; Teresa Quattrin; Lucy D Mastrandrea; Leonard H Epstein; Warren K Bickel Journal: J Behav Med Date: 2020-09-28