With the short amount of time allocated for seniors to eat lunch, many students who go off campus resort to eating fast food rather than healthy alternatives.

But a lot of students don’t recognize the health risks that come with eating fast food often.

Seniors like to eat at places near the school so that they are able to return to class and not be counted tardy or absent.

“I like to eat at Chipotle, Thundercloud, and Jason’s Deli,” senior Sydney Lloyd said.

Many other seniors say they like to eat off campus because cafeteria is not satisfactory enough.

“I feel like it’s not quality food even though they say it is healthy,” senior Edwin Abad-Cruz said.

According to an online student survey conducted by The Eagle’s Eye, 65.63 percent of students eat at their favorite fast food restaurant at least once a week.

“Wingstop is my favorite fast food restaurant,” sophomore Conrado Vega said. “I eat there about once a week.”

And when you eat fast food often, the costs tend to build up.

“I love Chick-Fil-A. I spend, on a regular basis, $6-$7 per meal,” junior Tenzin Dechen said.

A number of students, like Loyd, like to bring their own lunches occasionally.

“I like to bring my lunch on some days because its healthier and less expensive than fast food,” Loyd said.

Some students don’t even consider healthy alternatives at fast food restaurants.

“Healthy food doesn’t taste as good as unhealthy food,” senior David Caballero said. “Fatty foods have more flavor. Plus, I’m a picky eater.”

But other students try and seek out healthy options before resorting to greasy foods.

“It depends on the restaurant and the prices but I try and look for healthy choices first,” Abad-Cruz said.

According to the Centers of Disease Control, 34.9 percent of adults in the United States are obese and 31 percent of adults in Texas are obese.

According to a recent article on KUT.org, 48 percent of Dove Springs Elementary students are obese or overweight and at Mendez Middle School over half of the students are obese or overweight.

Health experts are concerned that as a result of increasing obesity rates, this generation could be the first to have a shorter lifespan than that of their parents.