The College Diet and Its Effect On Eating Habits

1478 Words3 Pages

The College Diet and Its Effect On Eating Habits

Food -- it is a necessity. There is not one person who does not think about it on a daily basis. For a college student, the quality of food available is not always to the highest of standards. Many students can not afford to buy expensive food or eat out on a regular basis. Many times their only option left is to eat from their school’s dining halls.

The transition into college can be one of the most exciting times in a young adult’s life. They are starting a new chapter in their lives that may have a lasting effect on their future. Many new friendships will be made, along with countless amounts of changes in their life including new habitat, change in income, workload amounts, and eating habits.

Change in eating habits is one of the most significant changes a college student experiences. There are many different factors for this change such as being away from home and home-cooked meals, late night snacks, increase in alcoholic beverage consumption, along with the fact that many college students now have a meal plan to eat at their college dining halls.

At Northeastern University, the Dining Services Department works very hard to try to accommodate the many different needs of their students. Bill Fantasia (Director of Residential Dining), failed to respond to several attempts to set up an interview regarding the dining hall’s healthy aspects, however, research and trips to the dining hall provided information on the options offered.

Many college dining halls have a limited amount of diverse foods. The presence of healthy foods may sometimes only be the salad bar. The lack of healthy food, along with the idea of having an endless supply of the food offered during e...

... middle of paper ...

...genetic, environmental, and social factors. College-life includes many of these factors and occurs more often in college-aged females than males. Another fact is that the males in college tend to dine more frequently at the school's dining halls than females.

About 43 percent of males surveyed eat 10-15 times a week at Northeastern’s dining halls; whereas only about 14 percent of females do. However, 50 percent of females surveyed eat 1-4 times a week, whereas only 7 percent of males eat 1-4 times a week.

There are many books out for college students, if they are interested in eating well while living at school. One such book is called the College Student’s Guide to Eating Well on Campus by Ann Selkowitz, M.S., R.D., L.D. This book describes the basics of nutrition, along with why the freshman 15 occurs and how to avoid it and other healthy eating techniques.

Open Document