“The Truth About College Dining” On most campuses, college dining is portrayed to be healthy and nutritious, but experts have argued it is not as healthy as the public makes it seem. Studies have even shown that the required purchasing of a meal plan has led students early on in their college experience to gaining weight known as the “freshman fifteen.” Is the food really as nutritionally balanced as it is portrayed to be? Surely there is a way for college students to maintain a relatively healthy lifestyle when it comes to eating. It is up to the students, like myself, to find out exactly how to do so. “Coming in as a freshman, I never really knew how different it would be to find food that was actually healthy but tasted good,” …show more content…
22) say, “the period of young adulthood during the college years is an opportune time to help students develop lifelong healthy dietary habits and eating behaviors in an effort to prevent obesity and reduce the prevalence of comorbid conditions in the future.” I hope that my eating habits change drastically for the better after I get out of college. Sooner would be even better. This everyday lifestyle will be very hard to change after becoming accustomed to it for so long. It’s hard to change eating habits when I’m surrounded by so many unhealthy choices that are so easily within my reach. As a freshman, I’m trying to improve my time management skills and find time to go to the gym at least three times a week for half an hour to forty-five minutes. Balancing my eating habits, regular exercise, keeping my grades up, and still making time for my friends is not easy. This is why it is important for students to make occasional health-beneficial decisions become habits so they become part of an everyday routine. Although people go to college for a degree and not for the food, nutrition has a lot to do with how the body functions. By this I mean that if a student is filling his or her body up with
One factor of the freshman 15 is the student’s living environment. Students living on campus in residence halls are more prone to weight gain than students living at home with their parents or off campus (Provencher et al., 2009). This is due to the availability of food on campus at various universities that studies were held. While students living at home with their parents often have home cooked meals, often dining halls in college campuses serve food with an all-you-can eat buffet style, where students are free to eat as much as they like. Students living away from ...
When I arrived here at college I was extremely disappointed with the selection of food here in the cafeteria. I frequently found myself eating only hamburgers and pizza over and over again, simply because I did not like the other choices. About four months into the school year I had do go to the doctor for a virus and when the nurse weighed me I was a little surprised by what I saw. I had gained a little over ten pounds, close enough to what some refer to as the “Freshman 15.” It is a common fear among college students that they are going to gain fifteen pounds during the course of adjusting to college life. However experts have stated that the idea of the so called “Freshman 15,” is not that accurate. Every college student is obviously not going to gain fifteen pounds. However I believe that it is possible and it is a problem for many college students. College life completely changes eating habits among college students. Most students do not make the right choices about eating and exercising. College students across the country are severely unhealthy in their behaviors, and for some students the “Freshman 15” may be a reality.
The first and most obvious reason for weight gain is food. College cafeterias are smorgasbords of hot, greasy, fatty, empty calorie foods. At Seton Hall University, all freshmen are required to purchase a meal plan that comes with various amounts of Pirate dollars that can only be used on food. These Pirate Dollars are equal to one dollar and students are given an overage each semester. In order to avoid losing money, many students use these dollars to buy snacks in between all three meals. At the end of the year, the money is not refundable, so students must splurge once again in order to avoid throwing away their money. Whether students’ classes are far apart or back to back, they are likely to stuff themselves because they need to prepare to sit through about 3 or more hours of lecture, or their next class isn’t for another two or three hours and they plan to eat and “take a quick catnap.
Time is another big struggle for college students. I know the feeling of applying for classes because it’s tough to decide on if there’s time to get from one class to one another; also if there’s time to get a bite to eat. Wendell Berry’s “The Pleasures of Eating: In What Are People For?” article suggests taking pleasure in eating a few ways to help anyone be a healthier eater, but “time” is an obstacle for the solutions. First off, both Berry and actually Pollan suggest students grow their own food in gardens. Specifically, Berry says to “Participate in food production to the extent” and “You will be fully responsible for any food that you grow for yourself, and you will know all about it. You will appreciate it fully, having known it all
In all the freedom and choices a college student can face, food is a major one. The campus cafeteria selection...
Christie, Kathy. “Stateline: Even Students Are What They Eat.” The Phi Delta Kappan 84.5 (2003): 341-342. PDF file.
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.
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).
Proper nutrition is important in maintaining a long and healthy life. Most Americans are rushed due to their busy work schedules, and do not take the time to plan their diets properly. Like me, most Americans are unaware of the importance of eating a healthy diet and consume too many foods without the proper nutrients. Throughout my life I have been fortunate. I have not had any major health problems, and have been able to consume most foods without having to worry about gaining weight. These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously imagined.
Personal health should be a persons first and chief concern, however in a school environment that values grades over personal well being it can become difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Many factors can contribute to bad or poor health in college students, stress is one of the major problems for the majority of college level students; however a poor diet and a lack of sleep may also cause students to fall ill or do poorly in their classes. There are many steps that students can take to ensure that they have a healthy mind and body even in a high stress college environment. Students should strive to maintain a healthy diet, a regular sleep schedule, good personal care and a regular exercise routine in order to sustain their overall well being.
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.
The food I have consumed recently is my attempts to each healthy on campus, which is surprisingly difficult.
For some people college is where they are at their unhealthiest due to the lack of time and other
My cultural background will be a great contribution to the Washington State University Coordinated Dietetics Program. Being raised in a Malasia, having visited different countries, and now living in the United States, I have experienced the similarities and differences among many diverse cultural groups and nutritional diets. This broad exposure to different cultures allowed me to relate to different types of people by understanding their ways and beliefs, a quality that will help me work well with other students and people. For example, many Malasians will eat something that is unhealthy in nutritional standards and has no benefits to the body. However, they will continue to consume it because it is common in their culture. I would like to teach Malasian people to look at food from a cultural and nutritional angle to be more healthful.
The United States of America is one of the most advanced mass producing countries in the world. With vast technological and agricultural advances, physical activity and minimal production of crops has become obsolete. An epidemic as defined in An Introduction to Community Health by Mckenzie, Pinger, and Kotecki, is “an unexpectedly large number of cases of an illness, specific health-related behavior, or other health related event.” Diabetes, heart disease and cancer are all forms of lifestyle diseases, and each of these diseases of the human body can be caused by unhealthy lifestyle choices, particularly affecting those who are overweight or obese. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, obesity is defined as a condition characterized by the excessive accumulation and storage of fat in the body. Medically defined, it is an “abnormal accumulation of body fat, usually 20% or more over an individual's ideal body weight associated with increased risk of illness, disability, and death.” More than 35.7% of Americans are obese and the medical costs for those who were obese in 2008 spent $1,429 higher than those that were considered a normal weight. Obesity rates are also higher in different ethnic groups. Some of the leading causes of obesity that will be explained further include sedentary lifestyles, health conditions, and food chains. Although obesity is an issue that is currently rising due to our country’s advances, it is completely curable and avoidable if people were further educated about this problem.