If you’ve ever been a strapped-for-cash college student, you probably know what it’s like to sustain yourself on instant noodles. But new research suggests that female students and other consumers who chow down on the quick, inexpensive meal might want to start looking for alternatives, because those noodles could cause health problems down the road.

A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition found that certain people with diets high in instant noodles could lead to metabolic syndrome, which includes symptoms of abdominal obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol and blood sugar levels, the New York Time’s Well blog reports.

The South Korean researchers studied the diets of more than 10,711 adults in the country and found two major dietary patterns: those who consume a “traditional” diet of fish, rice and vegetables and those who sustain on a regimen of meat and processed foods, including instant noodles.

Although researchers say that neither diet as a whole was associated with metabolic syndrome, they did find that women who ate instant noodles at least twice a week were 68% more likely to have health issues, such heart disease and diabetes, that are often associated with the syndrome.

While that doesn’t necessarily spell doom-and-gloom for the millions of college students scarfing down instant noodles, a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard, Dr. Frank Hu, tells the Well blog that cutting back on noodles might not be a bad idea.

“Once or twice a month is not a problem,” he says. “But a few times a week really is.”

Instant Noodles Tied to Heart Risk [The New York Times Well Blog]

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