It’s after school and students headed to their sports practices or sports meetings line up at the Jock Lobby snack bar to grab a quick snack.

One of the most popular items is a cup of instant ramen noodles. Although it is a cheap food option ubiquitous to supermarkets and college dorm rooms.

The concession stand charges $1 for each cup, however a 24 family pack of cup noodles at Costco only costs $8.24.

A cup of noodles is very unhealthy and can lead to adverse health affects.

If you’re a person that hardly pays attention to nutrition facts, you will be surprised to find out the a cup of Nissin chicken and vegetable flavored ramen contains a total of 1,480 milligrams of sodium, 13 grams of fat of which seven grams are saturated fats.

“[I eat ramen noodles] maybe three to four times a week as a snack when I get home,” sophomore Ivana Jarin said.

For a single served cup, that is a whopping amount of sodium and artery-clogging fat entering the body.

According to Mayo Clinic, the recommended daily sodium intake for Americans under the age of 51 is less than 2,300 mg.

Likewise, Americans should consume no more than 14 grams of saturated fat. With this in mind, one cup of instant ramen noodles contains more than half the amount of sodium and fat that a person should take in a day.

Excessive amounts of sodium and fat from instant ramen is deleterious to the growing bodies of students.

High sodium intake increases the chance of acquiring cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, stroke and heart disease which are leading killers of Americans

Processed junk foods including instant noodles contribute to the reason why 90 percent of children in the United States consume more sodium than they should be.

Students who practically live on instant noodles after school should obtain energy from eating more fruits, vegetables, granola bars, whole grains and drink lots of water to help with kidney function.

Before slurping on a another cup of ramen, student should be mindful of health risks associated with processed foods and make an effort to moderate their consumption.

Students next time should skip the concession stand and pack a banana.