Adolescent behavior is notoriously difficult to change because teens are very sensitive to anything they perceive as a threat to their autonomy. And, as many parents know, many problematic behaviors come about because teens aren’t particularly motivated by thinking about long-term consequences. Combine those two, and you get teens doing stupid things—and not being willing to listen when that’s pointed out to them.

Among other things, these attitudes make it hard to convince teens to eat healthily. However, a recent study published in PNAS demonstrates that it’s possible to use teens’ social values to motivate them to adopt a better diet. The approach makes sense, considering that teens are known to place a high value on their social environments.

The study in question tapped into teens’ tendency to develop social justice goals during their adolescent years—they often do this as a reaction to authority figures whom they perceive as unjust. The researchers designed an intervention presented as an exposé of manipulative food industry marketing. In other words, they showed the teens how high-calorie/low-nutritional value foods are misleadingly marketed as healthy options. They also educated teens about the consequences of food industry manipulations for poor people and young children, who are often tricked into eating the unhealthiest foods. The intervention framed healthy eating as a way of “sticking it to the man.”