Teens Eat Just As Much At Subway As At McDonald's

Sure, Subway might base their whole campaign on healthy options, but researchers have found that teenagers will eat the same amount of calories at Subway and McDonald's.

The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, had 87 teens ages 12 to 21 go to McDonald's and Subway in Los Angeles and order a meal for lunch. On average, the teenagers bought 1,038 calories at McDonald's and 955 calories at Subway, with only an 80 calorie difference.

"Our study was not based on what people have the ability to pick, our study was based on what adolescents actually selected in a real-world setting," Dr. Lenard Lesser told the LA Times.

So sure, Subway may have healthier menus, Lesser says, but participants still chose fattier options, and a "meal" contained more calories than the recommended 850 for a teen's lunch. And while Subway may market healthy subs, what they sell as a complete meal is still pretty hefty calorically. On the bright side, there are probably less preservatives in a turkey sub than in a Big Mac, but we're just guessing.