If you've ever spent time with a teen, you know that food is an ever-present, imperative component of every teenager's lifestyle. I hadn't quite noticed how much food teenagers actually consume until recently.

Over the past six months or so, after breaking my foot in a high school football game, I had put on quite a few extra pounds. In preparation for baseball season and football in the fall, I recently started a new diet -- a modified version of Atkins with lots of fresh salads, veggies and lean meats. As I cut back on many different sugary foods such as soda, chips and desserts, it became apparent to me just how much food my friends devoured.

Let me show you what I mean. My friends and I often go to the movies. Before the film commences, my friends all buy jumbo sodas, buckets of popcorn, and some candy. After the movie, we'd then head down to Taco Bell or McDonald's to pick up some food to take back to someone's house. We'd crash at someone's house and play some cards or video games.

Inevitably, half an hour later, the question would pop up. "Dude, you got any more food?" And it would be no problem for us to all breeze through a couple packs of soda, along with two bags of chips. After that, it was time for some cookies or we'd go get some ice cream.

Not only is it obvious how much food teens eat constantly, but it's also interesting to look at how the food that teenagers eat reflects their lifestyle. Most teenagers are either always on the move, or just "chillin." Because of that, the food that we choose to eat and take with us is very easy to prepare, usually requiring little prepping at all. We don't want to spend the time necessary to make food. We want to grab it and walk out the door. Teens also tend to grab food that is very easy to take somewhere without being a heavy burden.

Food companies and restaurants are starting to realize these facts and are advertising and producing accordingly. One example is Taco Bell. They have an ad out promoting their Crunchwrap Supreme. In the ad they claim that their product is "good-to-go." As a teenager, when I see the ad, I take it to mean that if I buy that food, it is ready to eat and lets me keep going where I want to get to -- regardless of what's actually inside.

Another company, realizing what teens want for food, is Kellogg's, which makes Pop-Tarts. Recently, the company started producing and advertising an offspring of the Pop-Tart called a Go-Tart. It is a smaller, easier to carry version of a Pop-Tart.

While all these foods might taste good and are quick and convenient, they are all basically just new versions of the old "junk food."

This is not a diss on teens for eating too much food, or anything like that. It is just a simple observation that is quite interesting and something I would never have noticed if I weren't trying to eat healthy and lose weight. Teenagers are always doing something that makes them hungry -- but it's amazing that we don't give much thought to how we satisfy that hunger.

By the way, in case anyone is interested, I've lost about 25 pounds to date and I'm feeling much better -- and better about the way I look and eat.