Unfazed by cautionary tales of high cholesterol, obesity and associated ailments, students regularly consume fast food on campus.
Although many fast-food restaurants are adding green foods to their menus, students -- who often desire convenience and are short on time -- tend to indulge in less-than-balanced meals.
"It's convenient," Wharton senior Jason Lee said, explaining why he regularly eats Subway hoagies.
Each day, around 2,000 students pass through the food court located beneath the 1920 Commons -- which houses Subway, Chick-fil-A, Freshens and C3 convenience store -- according to Tom Grant, retail director of the 1920 Commons retail food court.
While Grant says there seem to be some health-conscious students who buy products from United Natural Food -- the health-food line sold in the C3 store -- most students are eating fried chicken.
The Chick-fil-A sandwich is the number-one selling sandwich, Grant said.
Even with the fresh salads on the menu of Cosi -- located on 36th and Walnut streets -- Jess Harrison, a first-year graduate student in the School of Medicine, does not consider her decision to eat there a healthy one.
Her favorite item, the grilled chicken parmesan sandwich, contributes 634 calories and 20 grams of fat to her diet.
"But I guess it's better than deep-fried chicken," Harrison said. "If I am health-conscious, I have to pack my lunch," she said, adding that packing a lunch is a rare occurence for her due to limited time and energy.
Like Cosi, Au Bon Pain -- located in Huntsman and Steinberg-Dietrich halls as well as the Nursing Education Building-- offers primarily salads and sandwiches. But even among more nutritious selections, some menu items contain high amounts of saturated and trans fats.
"We don't consider ourselves strictly a health-food restaurant," said Steven Sklar, director of marketing at Au Bon Pain.
According to Sklar, Au Bon Pain does focus on improving consumers' nutrition by providing computers with nutrition information in all restaurants.
Economics professor Ichiro Obara eats at Au Bon Pain once a week "mainly because of the convenience."
"It's okay nutritionally as long as you choose wisely," said Obara, who attempts to sustain a healthy diet by eating salads at Au Bon Pain. Obara added that he couldn't remember the last time he ate at McDonald's or Subway, noting that it had been a long time since he ate fast food.
On the other hand, students sometimes may not be totally conscious of their eating habits at McDonald's due to their activities prior to ordering.
"As soon as the bars close at 2 a.m." students start lining up at the McDonald's counter at 40th and Walnut streets, McDonald's Assistant Manager Danny Long said.
"They love the quarter-pounder with cheese meal," Long said of the students visiting between the hours of 2 and 5 a.m.
At 860 calories, 15g saturated fat and 5.5g trans fat, this meal may be detrimental when consumed regularly.
There are real repercussions of making poor food choices, according to Lisa Hark, director of the Nutrition Education and Prevention Program in the School of Medicine.
"I would say eating fast food more than once or twice [per week] you will most likely have a diet high in saturated fat, high in trans fat and high in sodium," Hark said. "I understand that fast food is easy, tastes good and [is] cheap. My recommendation is to make better fast-food choices."
The Food and Drug Administration identifies saturated and trans fats as culprits that raise LDL cholesterol levels in the blood, increasing the risk of coronary heart disease -- one of the leading causes of death in the United States.
"For saturated fat and cholesterol ... 5 percent of the daily value or less is low and 20 percent or more is high," according to the FDA.
For a diet of 2,000 calories, the recommended daily intake of saturated fat is 20g.
