Background Research
In starting our study to find whether there is a preference for males and females in their choice of burrito bowl or burrito from chipotle, we conducted a complete and thorough internet search to see if there were any previous studies or information collected on the subject. Although we did not find much on our specific study, we did however find much relating information that creates a solid base for our study.
In the beginning of our search, we found several opinion/forum type web-sites with members describing why one choice is better than the other. Fans of the burrito bowl praise this options for factors such as ability to save and reheat for later, allergies to the tortilla shell, little to no mess, and can add additional condiments with ease. On the other side, the burrito offers the same price but with a tortilla, great taste, a more filling meal, and being able to grab on to it. Both sides of the argument offer several pros, with each appealing to a different consumer.
When it comes to fast food, many people also take the nutritional side of their meal into consideration. Therefore, we looked into the nutritional fact of each option. Since the only thing different between the two options is the shell, we only needed to research the nutritional facts of the tortilla encasing. The soft flour tortilla adds an addition 290 calories, 9 grams of fat, 44 carbohydrates, and 290 grams of sodium. According to this site, http://www.livestrong.com/article/360810-why-men-burn-calories-faster/, men burn off calories faster and overall have a higher and faster working metabolism. This leads us to believe that women are more likely to purchase a burrito bowl due to the extra unneeded fats, carbs, calories, and grams of sodium that are in the tortilla that comes with a burrito. Being teenagers, we know that Chipotle is more of a newer restaurant and is preferred by teenagers. It is not very often that you see an adult over 35 going to get food unless they are with their children. Most customers though probably range from 13 to 25. This knowledge caused us to research what the average teens calorie intake should be based on gender and age. According to this site, http://www.exercise4weightloss.com/teen-calorie-intake.html, active teen males age 14 to 18 should take in 2,800 to 3,200 calories a day to maintain a healthy energy level. Active teen girls age 14 to 18 need to take in an average 2,400 calories a day to maintain a healthy energy level. This gives teenage males an extra 400 to 800 calories to consume each day. The other figures can be found in this table we also got from this website.
Although we weren’t able to find previous studies that have been done that pertain to our current study, we did find a multitude of information that could lead us to believe there will be a connection between gender and whether or not a burrito or bowl is ordered. Some of the factors that lead us to believe this are if the person believes a bowl is more filling, or convenient when it comes to adding sauces and reheating it the next day. Other main factors are the nutritional facts of the burrito. Based on our studies the tortilla that comes with the burrito has a lot of extra calories, fats, and carbs as compared to the bowl. The fact that males are able to eat more calories, fats, and carbs in their diets, leads us to believe that when we do our study, more bowls are going to be ordered by females than males. This background research has definitely created a greater research in our study and we look forward to finding out the results.