Fast Food, Slower Control? Exploring the Relationship Between Fast Food Consumption and Self-Regulatory Abilities in Early Adolescents

Background Fast food consumption has been linked to poorer health indicators and behavioral dysregulation in adolescents, yet little research has examined its association with self-regulation. Regulation of emotions, cognitions, and behaviors is critical for the transition into adolescence. Objective This study explored whether frequency of fast food consumption was associated with the three domains of self-regulation in early adolescents while controlling for sociodemographic factors. Methods Participants were 2,164 early adolescents ( M  = 12.53 years) drawn from a large, school-based dataset. Adolescents reported their weekly frequency of fast food consumption and completed a 13-item self-regulation measure with domain specific subscales. Covariates included age, grade, gender, subjective socioeconomic status, and parental monitoring. Multiple regression was utilized to test whether fast food consumption was uniquely associated with self-regulation after adjusting for covariates. Results Greater fast food consumption was associated with lower overall self-regulation scores (β = –.05, p  = .01). When subscales were examined, fast food consumption remained significantly associated with poorer emotional self-regulation (β = –.06, p  = .003) but not cognitive self-regulation (β = –.03, p  = .12). Conclusions Fast food consumption showed modest negative associations with emotional and behavioral self-regulation in early adolescence, even after adjusting for demographic factors. These findings cautiously emphasize the importance of considering everyday health behaviors when examining self-regulatory abilities in early adolescence. Further research is necessary to replicate findings and to determine whether practical implications exist.