`YO QUIERO TACO BELL,' SUBWAY FAST FOOD NO. 1 WITH SCHOOL KIDS.

Byline: David R. Baker and Dominic Berbeo Staff Writers

CANOGA PARK - Taco Bell burritos, Domino's pizza and other fast food have shoved aside healthier fare in many California high school cafeterias, according to a statewide study released Wednesday.

The survey of 171 school districts throughout the state found that 95 percent of high schools offered their students some type of fast food, ranging from healthy snacks such as yogurt to fat bombs like burgers. At 71 percent of the districts surveyed, fast food accounted for 70 percent of all food sales in high schools.

The Los Angeles Unified School District offers Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Subway Sandwiches menu items at local high schools and some middle schools. But Carol Noelting, deputy branch director for food service, said those items and other fast food - including fruit, cookies, yogurt and soda - account for just 32 percent of high school sales.

Still, researchers and dietitians already worried about the growing obesity of American teens said fast food in the cafeteria doesn't help.

``It's so easy for high school students to get fast food on campus - both the brand names like Pizza Hut and Domino's and the nonbrand names - that students just go for that first,'' said Sharon Eller, a dietitian and spokeswoman for Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition), a health advocacy group. ``We may be teaching that health is important in the classroom, but as soon as they walk out of the classroom, they can get fast food.''

For students, choosing junk food is often a matter of convenience and taste. Health concerns come somewhere after that.

``It's not the healthiest food, but it's not that bad either,'' said Jackie Dorfman, munching a Pizza Hut slice Wednesday at Canoga Park High School.

While most of the school districts polled said they included fast-food items because students wanted them, nearly one-third said they sell junk food to keep their budgets in the black. Many reported using the money for facilities and athletic programs, among other expenses.

``That raises a lot of questions,'' said researcher Sarah Samuels who conducted the survey for the nonprofit Sacramento-based Public Health Institute. ``Do they need to make a profit? Or are they so underfunded that they need to be making these choices?''

The institute did not reveal which school districts took part in the survey, saying researchers had promised districts confidentiality.

Noelting said that at LAUSD schools, fast food serves as bait to keep students in the cafeteria. That, in turn, increases the chances that teens will start eating regular school lunches, which must meet federal nutrition guidelines.

``There's no profit in it for us,'' Noelting said. ``It's an attraction to make sure they eat with us.''

Fast-food items can be the district's own. Los Angeles Unified, for example, has its own brand of bottled water. But more than half of the districts surveyed offered either Taco Bell, Subway, Domino's, Pizza Hut or food from some other major brand.

At Canoga Park High, students can buy Pizza Hut or Domino's pizza as well as Subway sandwiches. Those items are sold at small carts around campus so students can avoid long lines in the cafeteria.

``I just buy it every day because it tastes good and it's not too expensive,'' said LaRue Floyd, a sophomore. ``I wish they had more stuff to choose from. There's nothing really good in the cafeteria. If this is the only thing to choose from, then I'm going to keep buying it.''