Eating

Eating is a gameplay element introduced in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City where the player can purchase and consume food for replenishing health, originally an alternative to walking up to health pickups. The feature has been further adopted in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto IV, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
The concept of eating for health was first introduced in GTA Vice City in the form of several restaurants scattered throughout Vice City, including two Well Stacked Pizza outlets (the Downtown outlet is inactive) and eight food court outlets at the North Point Mall. When the player's health is less than 100 points, halos will appear at the counters of the aforementioned restaurants. The player can choose to walk up to any of the halos to order a meal. In exchange for a variable sum of money, the player's health is restored to 100 points (regardless of whether or not the player's maximum health has been increase to 150 or 200 points). Because each restored health point costs $1, it is actually more expensive and less effective to eat for health than simply picking up health icons at hospitals or other locations.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
In GTA San Andreas, the concept of eating is elevated into a basic necessity, becoming the primary source of health in the game. Carl must purchase and consume food or drink at least once every 72 in-game hours, or he will risk starvation. Saving the game resets the hunger counter. When the player is hungry, their fat, if any, is reduced every 1 hour; if there is no fat left, the player will begin to lose small sums of muscle followed by health, when muscle is depleted, at the same rate and eventually die. Food can be purchased in GTA San Andreas at any fast food outlet (Cluckin' Bell, Burger Shot and Well Stacked Pizza), as well as street vendors and vending machines. Saving at a save point, eating or drinking during a date, or acquiring health pickups will also eliminate hunger.

In addition to basic nourishment, fast food restaurants offer the player different types of meals which can increase the player's fat in small amounts. Repeated consumption of high-fat meals will eventually result in Carl accumulating too much fat, causing him to appear more obese (note that even though the body fat increases while eating, CJ will not appear fat until the he exits the restaurant). Fat can be burnt off by exercising at Gyms. Eating too much at a restaurant in one go will also result in Carl vomiting as well as losing a little amount of health.

Eating is also available as an activity with the player character's girlfriends, in which the player must drive any of their girlfriends to a selected range of restaurants and bars to eat or drink. The success of such dates depends on the choice of place to dine; each girlfriend has a preference towards certain premises.

Grand Theft Auto IV
In GTA IV, eating returns to the function it originally had in GTA Vice City, as hunger is no longer factored into the game. Like in GTA San Andreas, the player can acquire food and drink at fast food outlets (Cluckin' Bell and Burger Shot), as well as street vendors and vending machines. Food or drink replenishes health in varying degrees, with drinking usually replenishing health in smaller amounts.

Eating is also an activity that can be performed with a friend or girlfriend in the game. The player can initiate the activity by calling or receiving a call from a contact in on the in-game mobile phone. The player then must take their friend or girlfriend to a restaurant or club, such as Burger Shot, Mr. Fuk's Rice Box, or the Superstar Café. Different friends have different opinions on restaurants, however they will only mention it once they arrive at a restaurant. If the venue is visited regularly, their approval will drop slightly.

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
Eating in GTA Chinatown Wars is significantly modified in that the player can no longer enter restaurants for meals. Instead, street vendors serve as the primary source of food, while Burger Shot or Wigwam Burger scratch card prizes in the form of burgers or fries as well as burgers (fresh or moldy) from dumpster diving can be acquired by chance for partial or full health.

Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online
Eating in GTA V is now much more limited, as the player can no longer purchase food at street vendors (all of them are unoccupied) and the once accessible restaurants from GTA IV (Burger Shot, Cluckin' Bell) are no longer able to be accessed. In fact, when going out with a friend, there is no option to eat at restaurants. The player is only able to consume snacks purchased at convenience stores, which compensates for the lack of eating foods in GTA V. In Grand Theft Auto Online, snacks can be stored in the player's inventory for future uses.