Teen/kid addiction to sugar was and is a priority.
Social networks is a sugar for minds.
My theory is that the food tasted less flavorful, so people compensated by adding their own.
I don't eat a lot of junk food, but for a long time after the Obama administration, when I did partake, often my immediate reaction was "Wow. These aren't as tasty as I remember."
/I'm looking at you, Cool Ranch Doritos.
in all likelihood it's just enshittification, as those big corps make more slop for the plebs to eat in the cheapest way possible