When it comes to getting a quick hunger fix, a lot of people turn to fast food chains mainly because they’re quick, easy, and cheap. However, it’s important to note that all that convenience comes with a huge price: Your health.

Items on fast food chains’ menus, while delicious, have really high calorie counts and not enough nutrients. To give you some perspective, a person’s recommended calorie intake per meal should be about 400-600 calories. A lot of the things that fast food chains serve exceed that calorie count. For example, the Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips from McDonald’s has 1270 calories in it, while it’s Deluxe Big Breakfast meal has 1220. Meanwhile, Burger King’s WHOPPER with Cheese and DOUBLE WHOPPER with Cheese have 760 calories and 900 calories, respectively. Note that those don’t include fries or drinks yet.

And it’s not just about the calories. A lot of the fast food meals contain a lot of saturated fat and bad cholesterol, both of which increases your chances of getting heart disease. These foods are high sodium as well, which when consumed excessively can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, and even cancer.

Image credit:  SteFou! on Flickr