When University students want to satisfy their drunken munchies, finding a quick, greasy meal isn’t hard, according to a recent study by The Daily Beast.
The study, compiled using research conducted by AggData and Technomic, found that of the 30 largest fast food restaurant chains, Baton Rouge has 216 locations, meaning there are 95.8 fast food restaurants per 100,000 residents.
The Daily Beast, a news and opinion website, compared the 30 largest fast food chain restaurant locations in about 500 cities with more than 200,000 residents to come up with the top 40 fast food-filled cities.
Baton Rouge ranks seventh.
The No. 1 city was Orlando, Fla., with 196.3 restaurants per 100,000 residents, followed by Louisville, Ky., with 147.1 restaurants. Richmond, Va., ranked third with 134 restaurants. Miami was in fourth place with 123.5 restaurants, and Las Vegas rounded out the top five with 120.3 restaurants.
The states with the most cities on the list were Florida and Virginia, both with four cities in the top 40, according to the report.
Jennifer Frentress, nutritional sciences senior, said she was not aware Baton Rouge had such a high number of fast food chains.
“That perhaps is a contributing factor to why Louisiana is ranked the fifthhighest state in the country in obesity based on the 2010 Trust [for] America’s Health report,” Frentress said.
Vanessa Richard, registered dietitian in the Student Health Center Office of Health Promotion, said health problems linked with eating a large amount of fast food would gradually develop in an individual’s lifetime.
“Regular consumption of foods high in calories, fats and sodium, including fast food, can lead to difficulty maintaining weight, heart disease and diabetes,” Richard said in an e-mail.
Richard said eating foods high in sodium and fat can contribute to heart disease risk factors, like high blood pressure, elevated blood cholesterol and triglycerides.
She said fast food is low in healthy nutrients, like unsaturated fats, vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.
Ben Faulk, sociology senior, said he doesn’t typically eat fast food because he likes to stay in shape and be healthy.
“I cook a lot of tuna,” Faulk said. “I get tuna steaks at the store for $4.”
Faulk said he goes to Subway when he needs a quick meal.
While the caloric density is similar, Frentress explained the differences between eating at Subway and McDonald’s.
“The nutrient value of consuming a Subway sandwich is much more practical than say chicken nuggets from McDonald’s,” Frentress said.
The Daily Beast report found Subway was the most common fast food restaurant in 32 of the top 40 cities.
Other chains making frequent appearances on the top-40 list include Burger King, Dunkin’ Donuts, Wendy’s, Sonic, Arby’s, Pizza Hut and Dairy Queen.
Baton Rouge, along with No. 4 Miami, have more Burger King locations than any other restaurant meeting the report’s criteria.
Baton Rouge has 10 Burger King locations, including two on Bluebonnet Boulevard, two on Florida Boulevard, one on Highland Road and one on Perkins Road, according to the Burger King website’s restaurant locator.
Melissa Normand, art and painting freshman, said she eats fast food meals often but plans to cut back one day.
“Soon I’ll start watching what I eat,” she said. “But I won’t worry about it just yet.”
Normand said she doesn’t believe freshmen consume more fast food than other University students because her older siblings also frequent fast food joints.
Richard said college students often have difficulties maintaining a balanced diet because of time constraints, low food budgets and limited exercise.
“Nutrition habits one adapts to in college usually transfer into adulthood,” Richard said.
Frentress said she isn’t sure if a college diet is unhealthier than an average adult diet but believes being in school makes fast food more tempting.
“Unless nutrition education takes place, our state will continue to consume fast food and rank high in these statistics,” she said.
 
 
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Contact Celeste Ansley at [email protected]