Obesity has risen over the years. The United States now has one of the highest obesity rates. Bad eating habits are usually the cause of this pandemic. For the past few decades, college dorm foods have led to these habits. The more unhealthy food choices are, the harder it is for people to resist these foods. Colleges serve a variety of unhealthy food in their dining halls that contributes to students’ lower GPA. By eating healthier, students can maintain a healthy weight, focus better in school, and increase their school performance to a higher grade point average (GPA).
It depends on what specific situation the student is stuck in to determine which foods they 're living off. My assumption of their daily meals is first, breakfast is one piece of fruit and a breakfast sandwich from a fast-food joint. Then, lunch or dinner is one entree of pizza, fried chicken, or a burger. Occasionally the student may snack off a bag of chips or a candy bar, but other than that, I can’t say that most students are eating healthy; I’ve seen at my college snacking mostly on chips while taking a break from class. Luckily, there some solutions to help to change the eating habits of the students. I discovered in Victoria Li’s article “Easy Diets for College Students” some helpful tips for the struggling students. She suggests “While opting for burgers fresh off the grill seems tempting, adhere to the habit of filling half your plate with fruits and vegetables, then filling the remainder with whole grains and lean protein” (2). In other words, it’s okay to have a greasy burger, but just as long you have something healthy to go with it, leading to a good balance of protein and energy Li says. As for the students going hungry because of their tight budget, some colleges or nearby locations may have meal donors. Li mentions in her article about the importance of not skipping meals as she says “Feeling famished due
Counseling Center for Human Development. Coping with Stress in College. U of South Florida. 3 Dec. 2000. http://usfweb.usf.edu/counsel/self-hlp/stress.htm
"Managing Stress: A Guide for College Students." University Health Center. University Health Center, 5 May 2014. Web. 13 May 2014.
It is evident that the freshman fifteen is a social problem and health problem. Freshmen hear about it in tons of magazine, blogs, and articles. Parents and friends are all constantly presenting the issue by saying watch out for the freshman fifteen. This problem is caused by the increased amount of alcohol, fats, carbohydrates, fast food and cafeteria style food. It can lead students to be overweight, obese, and have many health problems. Students have the freedom to eat when, how, whenever they want, and there is no one to tell them what to eat or when freshman should stop. Going to college is a significant change from being in high school. Many times, being in a new environment and balancing classes can lead to the quickest and easiest eating options; these may not always be the best.
Wengreen, H. J., & Moncur, C. (2009). Change in diet, physical activity, and body weight among young-adults during the transition from high school to college. Nutrition Journal, 8, 32-32.
For students who refuse to be part of the stereotype, or gain weight at all throughout their college years, skipping meals and dieting comes into play. Eating disorders can plague students as well. According to The Kellogg Report: the impact of nutrition, environment, and lifestyle on the health of Americans, without the more watchful eye of a parent, students with eating disorders may be more apt to go unnoticed for a longer period of time.
According to the College Health website, “No one is immune from stress, but those entering the ivory towers of college are particularly vulnerable to it.” Attending college for the first time gave me a feeling of displacement, nonetheless, I maintained my sense of priority, I am here to learn, here to excel, and here to focus on my objective.
Did you know that physical and mental health is a very important part of your college life? Maintaining and learning how to manage a healthy life in both physical and mental aspect can be challenging if you do not have a psychological meaning behind it. Many colleges require in general education that students learn about how and why people make the choices they do. Knowing where these buildings are and how to use them in the most resourceful way can make your experience at GCC that much more enjoyable. Physical and mental health are important parts of college life to keep up with all that goes on, and GCC offers many opportunities for students to learn about this within the Life Science building, the Fitness Center, and the Library.
Stress comes from many areas of life especially as an adult student incorporating school at a time in life when family and work are paramount. “Adults just returning to school have substantially higher anxiety about school in general and writing in particular than younger students.”3 Stress, best described by its "synonyms: strain, pressure, (nervous) tension, worry, anxiety, trouble, difficultly"1 has a medical history "According to the American Psychological Association, the majority of office visits to the doctor involve stress-related complaints, and stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide."2 If managed, stress can be a way to inform me; learning how to recognize my level of stress capacity is important. The Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory 5 http://www.stress.org/holmes-rahe-stress-inventory/ is a list of stressful events that contribute to illness. My personal score on this life stress inventory is 236; I fall in the category of about a fifty percent chance of a major health breakdown in the next...
Relevance: Weight problems are something a lot of people struggle with in college. I.E.; Freshman 15. And being healthy in college can really help people deal with other stuff better. Because when you don’t have to worry about your health you can focus on exams and homework more.
National Health Ministries (2006). Stress & The College Student. The University of Illinois at Chicago. http://www.uic.edu/depts/wellctr/docs/Stress%20and%20the%20College%20Student.pdf
Studies have shown that many college students are not able to handle the stress while in school, which hinders the ability for the brain to act in a normal way (Shahrokh and Hales, 2003). If a person is unable to deal with the stress that one is being faced with, it will have negative consequences in terms of causing several psychological disorders (Canby et al., 2014). Entering post-secondary education is a completely new environment for students, as it can be tough for many to adjust to the new surroundings. There are many factors that cause stress when students enter college, as it can include having the ability to deal with lower marks (Struthers et al., 2000) and having to create a new social life. Once and if a social life is established, it can cause more stress among students because it can lead into peer pressure that results in risky behavior. In particular, peer pressure can cause alcoholism or drug abuse (Seiffge-Krenke, 1990) or it can also cause unprotected sex. Not only does stress revolve around peer-pressure, but it can also be caused by headaches and lack of energy. If a student is constantly staying up late to finish assignments or to study, it can cause headaches from the lack of sleep; thus causing stress. With all the given factors, it can be hard to overcome these external factors which can ultimately lead to stress among
For some people college is where they are at their unhealthiest due to the lack of time and other
Everyone deals with stress at some point in his or her life. Most people deal with it daily. As defined in the book called Principles and Labs for Fitness and Wellness, stress is, “The mental, emotional, and physiological response of the body to any situation that is new, threatening, frightening, or exciting” (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2012). This stress is caused by a stressor, which is also known as “a stress-causing event” (Hoeger & Hoeger, 2012). Stressors can take all different forms, from moving to a new town, having a baby, or even writing a paper (Boyd, Wood, & Wood, 2011). One major stressor in life can be going to college. If not coped with properly, these stressors can leave a person with too much stress that could end up harming them mentally and physically, such as developing an illness (Boyd, Wood, & Wood, 2011). There are several ways to cope with stress. Some healthy ways to cope with stress would be practicing emotion-focused coping, building time-management techniques, and practicing meditation.