Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb 22;3(3):100208.
doi: 10.1016/j.focus.2024.100208. eCollection 2024 Jun.

How Do Anger and Impulsivity Impact Fast-Food Consumption in Transitional Age Youth?

Alejandro D Meruelo  1 , Ty Brumback  2 , William E Pelham 3rd  1 , Natasha E Wade  1 , Michael L Thomas  3 , Emil F Coccaro  4 , Kate B Nooner  5 , Sandra A Brown  1 , Susan F Tapert  1 , Sylvie Mrug  6
Affiliations

How Do Anger and Impulsivity Impact Fast-Food Consumption in Transitional Age Youth?

Alejandro D Meruelo et al. AJPM Focus. .

Abstract

Introduction: Consumption of fast food has been linked to psychiatric distress, violent behaviors, and impulsivity in adolescents. The relationship between eating fast food, anger, and impulsivity has not been widely investigated. The National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence community-based cohort consists of 831 youth, half at elevated risk factors for substance use disorders during adolescence, followed annually.

Methods: Impulsivity using Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance, and Sensation Seeking Impulsive Behavior scale from annual assessments was examined in relation to self-reported fast-food consumption frequency and mobile application questions of anger. This study tested the hypotheses that youth anger may be predicted by fast-food consumption frequency and impulsivity using multiple regression, in addition to whether adolescent fast-food consumption frequency may be predicted by anger and impulsivity.

Results: Among youth, higher anger levels and impulsivity predicted greater frequency of fast-food consumption, and greater fast-food consumption frequency and impulsivity predicted higher anger levels.

Conclusions: This study's longitudinal findings are consistent with those of other studies that have found fast-food consumption and anger associated with impulsivity and also reveal a bidirectional link between anger and fast-food consumption. These results may point attention to food selection considerations for those at risk of anger and poorer psychiatric outcomes.

Keywords: Anger; NCANDA; fast-food consumption; impulsivity; longitudinal; transitional age youth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlation matrix of key variables. Mobile NCANDA data were partitioned into 2 groups, described as average T1 and T2, separated by a period of 56 weeks. The asterisk (*) denotes significance at the p<0.05 level. NCANDA, National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence; T1, Time 1; T2, Time 2.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Summary of directions of prediction using hierarchical linear regression models. B=standardized estimate.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Sanchez-Villegas A, Zazpe I, Santiago S, Perez-Cornago A, Martinez-Gonzalez MA, Lahortiga-Ramos F. Added sugars and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, dietary carbohydrate index and depression risk in the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) Project. Br J Nutr. 2018;119(2):211–221. doi: 10.1017/S0007114517003361. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Golomb BA, Evans MA, White HL, Dimsdale JE. Trans fat consumption and aggression. PLoS One. 2012;7(3):e32175. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032175. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zahedi H, Kelishadi R, Heshmat R, et al. Association between junk food consumption and mental health in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-IV study. Nutrition. 2014;30(11–12):1391–1397. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2014.04.014. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Garza KB, Ding M, Owensby JK, Zizza CA. Impulsivity and fast-food consumption: a cross-sectional study among working adults. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2016;116(1):61–68. doi: 10.1016/j.jand.2015.05.003. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Begdache L, Chaar M, Sabounchi N, Kianmehr H. Assessment of dietary factors, dietary practices and exercise on mental distress in young adults versus matured adults: a cross-sectional study. Nutr Neurosci. 2019;22(7):488–498. doi: 10.1080/1028415X.2017.1411875. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources