Most people go out to eat to indulge themselves in a filling meal, not to watch their diets.

"I eat healthy when I stay in, which is the majority of the time, but when I go out I just eat what I feel like, whether it's a hamburger, pizza or wings," Charlie Olijnyk (junior-information sciences and technology) said.

"I usually go out to eat and drink [alcohol], so it's a social thing," he added.

However, many restaurants are still using trans fats, which have been shown to raise bad (LDL) cholesterol without increasing good (HDL) cholesterol levels, said Penny Kris-Etherton, professor of nutrition.

"Trans fat is still an unsaturated fat, but it changes the configuration of the molecule, which affects the texture and causes it to be more unhealthy," Kris-Etherton said. "Some think it's a risk factor for heart disease."

Sibylle Kranz, assistant professor of nutritional sciences, said that almost all foods that have a long shelf life have trans fats, including pre-packaged cookies and crackers.

"The property of these fats is manipulated so they have double bonds and won't go bad like vegetable oil," Kranz said. "That's the reason why we have so many of these trans fats in our food supply. They have ideal properties for mass food production and storage."

When dining out, people may find it difficult to avoid trans fats, because they have no idea what type of oil the restaurants use for cooking, said Melissa Martilotta, director of the University Health Services nutrition clinic.

Also, "most of the time, the packets of margarine at the table are unlabeled," Martilotta said. "Vegetable oils can have trans fats too."

In November 2003, the U.S. chain of Ruby Tuesday restaurants switched its cooking oil from partially hydrogenated soybean oil, which contains trans fat, to a trans fat-free canola oil, said spokesperson Perrin Anderson.

"We did that to provide our guests with healthy choices, and the response has been fantastic," Anderson said.

However, while French fries and onion rings at Ruby Tuesday, 1550 S. Atherton St., are no longer deep-fried in trans fats, some of the foods the restaurant gets from vendors have already been fried and may still contain trans fats, Anderson added.

"We are working with our vendors to provide us with items that are trans fat-free," he said.

Kris-Etherton said people also shouldn't forget to limit their consumption of saturated fats.

"We eat at least four times more saturated fat than trans fat," Kris-Etherton said. "Both are fats you want to avoid."

Kranz said that almost any food not made at home tends to contain more fat, sugar and calories.

"The food has to have a certain flavor, and fat and sugar contribute greatly to the taste of food," she said.

However, restaurants are increasingly adding low-fat and low-calorie items to their menus.

Monica Selvaggi, manager of Panera Bread, 148 S. Allen St., said the chain sells a variety of low-fat soups and has fat-free dressings available for salads.

The restaurant's bread does not contain any trans fat, she added.

"Our sourdough bread is fat-free," Selvaggi said. "Some of the breads contain some types of fat, but none of them have trans fat."

John Brelo, unit manager at Subway, 300 S. Pugh St., said only a few of Subway's sandwiches have trans fat, including meatball and tuna subs.

However, the restaurant sells six sandwiches that have six grams of fat or less, he added.

"The lunch crowd usually orders the healthier choices, but the night crowd usually comes in drunk and they don't care what they're eating," Brelo said.

Catherine Cluff (junior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management), who was on her way to Subway, said she was going to order a chicken teriyaki sub.

"I'd rather eat that than Wendy's or Burger King, because it's healthier," Cluff said.

Martilotta said the Food and Drug Administration requires the amount of trans fat grams to be listed on nutrition facts, unless the food contains less than half a gram.

"It would take extraordinary dietary changes to remove all trans fats from our diets," she said. "There are traces of trans fats in dairy and even lean meat, and if you stop eating them, you won't get the nutritional benefits of these products, like calcium."

Nutritionists say that when dining out, people should monitor portion sizes, which are usually very large at restaurants.

"The bigger the portion, the more people will eat," said Barbara Rolls, professor of nutrition.

According to the American Institute for Cancer Research, "60 to 70 percent of people eat all the food that's served to them, whether they want it or not," she said.

Rebecca Corwin, associate professor of clinical nutrition, said people should choose foods such as fruits and vegetables that have a low calorie density -- high in water and low in fat -- because they promote a feeling of satisfaction.

"Just because a food is low in fat doesn't mean it's low in calories," she added.