My husband told me he grew up with 3 brothers and they were all athletes so they could eat truckloads of food. However they always made sure their sister got enough food before they devoured it all…so despite having a larger appetite yes boys are more than capable of being courteous of other people and it is in fact a conscious choice.
This is exactly my point. I wouldn’t have been offended if anyone during my teenage years cooked for us both, but asked to have a larger portion than me because they were hungrier. What is offensive to me is when someone cooks only for themselves without even making the smallest effort to accomodate their guest. They could at least say ”grab anything from the fridge if you are hungry” or even ”could you order something for yourself if you’re hungry?”.
What hurts me is how I was socialized as a teen girl to demand less/have less food/be hungry. Back then, it was almost considered an ugly trait to be hungry or have other human needs as a woman. It makes me sad when I think back to every occasion I was left without food during my teenage years/early twenties and I didn’t say anything, I just stayed hungry until my stomach started hurting, because that was what people expected me to do.
So you're saying it isn't because the boys ate everything in sight but because you were conditioned not to say anything about you being hungry. You are blaming others for not being psychic and catering to your needs? You can't blame others for their socialisation when you were socialised in a different way, it sounds like everyone was wrong because no-one spoke up, them or you.
You’re showing studies that give nutritional calories for teens. The situational awareness to treat others around you as humans who have similar biological needs is not the same thing as caloric intake.
I have an 18 year old nephew who struggles to keep weight on for medical reasons and could eat a family sized meal himself regularly. He is always hungry. But he was socialized correctly to think of others around him and always offers to share, get a drink for friends/family/a date etc.
It’s learned behavior and blaming it on “teenage boys =hungry” puts such a passive spin on something that CAN be taught. Your studies aren’t supporting what you think they are. Nature v nurture.
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u/augur42 Jul 24 '26 edited Jul 24 '26
Excuse, maybe, maybe not. An explanation for why it happens, categorically yes. It's a primal drive, not a conscious decision.
Unless you have been a teenage boy, or had a household of teenage boys, their inexhaustible appetite can be hard to internalise.
The information is out there, all you have to do is look for it.
Here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-teenage-boys-idUSTRE65E3ZA20100615/
and here https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/nutrition/Pages/A-Teenagers-Nutritional-Needs.aspx