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Nutrition and college students
Food nutrition among college students
Nutrition and college students
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My behavior change is to try and start eating better by making a few adjustments to my diet and to start making more health conscious decisions. The transition has made it harder to eat a balanced diet as I am sure it has for many other college students. Poor eating habits can be a result from the transition into college which often worsens dietary habits and is what lead to the study performed in the article Factors Influencing Healthy Eating Habits Among College Students: An Application of the Health Belief Model (Deshpande, M. Brasil, & D. Brasil, 2009, p. 146). This study is very important because poor eating habits contribute to weight problems that can continue on during later years of life. Many studies have shown that college students often have poor dietary habits and the purpose of this study is to establish what factors have an effect on food selection and also to test the Health Benefit Model (HBM) (p. 147). College students from a Canadian college were give $5 for participating in a 20 minute survey which manipulated the participant’s hypothetical health conditions and asked them to make food product choices. It also had questions that asked the participant’s age, height, weight and gender. The sample consisted of 194 undergraduate students, 45% female and 55% male (p. 150-151). The results of the study showed that, “in general, the relationship of dietary …show more content…
As the rate of obesity rises, many are striving to better their health and one way is by consuming a more wholesome diet to better their lives. If more people were educated by this article and learned from it and other studies that could be based off of this article, one by one the community could become healthier
Nutrition and health have become more popular in today 's society. Our generation is becoming more and more indebted to the idea of being healthy and eating nutritious meals. However, in “The American Paradox,” by Michael Pollan he argues that our unhealthy population is preoccupied with nutrition and the idea of eating healthy than their actual health. He also mentions the food industry, nutrition science and how culture affects the way we eat and make food choices. While Pollan is right about all these factor that affect our eating habits, there is more to it than that. Convenience, affordability and social influence also affects our food choices making them inadequate.
Racette, S.B., Deusinger, S.S., Strube, M.J., Highstein, G.R., & Deusinger, R.H. (2005). Weight changes, exercise, and dietary patterns during freshman and sophomore years of college. Journal of American College Health, 53(8), 245-251.
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.
With an unlimited meal plan and buffet-style meals, do we students know how big our portions should be? If we are accustomed to being served super-sized portions, we might not realize when we are serving ourselves over-sized portions in our dining halls. In fact, researchers have found that increased portion size is an even greater problem in cafeteria settings like ours, noting a positive association between larger food receptacles and increased consumption(2). A correlational study at Cornell found significant weight gain in freshmen during the first twelve weeks of school and identified that both the “all-you-can-eat” dining hall style and student snacking on “junk-food” were key variables explaining a positive linear relationship with weight gai...
Lack of access to healthy choices has been identified by students at North West Regional College as an area of concern. In a June 2011 meeting a student said that even...
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.
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.
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).
...e, H., & Moinpour, C. (2003). Evaluation of strategies used by family food preparers to influence healthy eating, Appetite, 41(3), 265-272.
A well balanced diet is the cornerstone to a healthy lifestyle, yet many college students believe they don’t have the time or money to eat healthy meals on a regular basis. This belief often drives students to choose the cheapest and quickest food options available, these junk foods generally offer little to no nutrition (Miller). Many students also end up gaining weight over the course of their college years, because the majority of the foods they consume are high in empty calories and fats (Miller). There are many ways to improve a person’s diet, most of which require little effort and less money than one would expect. One of these options is making sure to drink a large amount of water, which “can help boost … concentration as well as keep you from overeating” (101 Health). Another way to maintain a good diet is remembering not to “skip meals,” eating three meals a day is good for a person’s health, furthermore it’s suggested that you partake in healthy snacks throughout the day ...
The nutrients that they get from food are what contribute to help all the systems in their body function properly. In their first year, students are in a transition phase between the kind and amount of nutrients they used to get at home and the ones they are getting in college. Instead of helping students make a smooth transition, the food that is offered in the meal plan makes it rough for them. This rough transition occurs mainly occurs because the meal plan 's food does not have high nutritional value. Consequently, the results of the rough transition reflects on the student 's health, academic performance, and athletic performance. For instance, Kelly Harris, a first-year student-athlete, said, "It would be easier to eat healthier without meal plans, that’s for sure.” When you have meal plans and you can eat at the school’s buffet. People do not tend to eat the healthiest of foods prepared when so many delicious, rather than nutritious, options are served. A correlation between fifteen pounds of weight gain and the college freshman year has been made because of meal plans. Many of the meals provided to students with meal plans are not quality meals, just innutritious food. They are prepared ahead of time and have been sitting out. That does not sound healthy or appetizing to me. I think that eating unhealthy food, such as the food provided by the meal plan, is not benefiting my energy level. It could
The poor food choices that men and women make is the cause of many illnesses, disease and chronic health conditions. Men and women generally have different thoughts and choices on the topic of healthy food. People’s bad health may be genetically occurred or their exposure to their past nutritional education was not helpful, but their bad health is primarily based upon the poor choices that the individuals choose in daily life.
Through life we have many different stages to where we are either settling down for a nice home cooked meal or we are constantly on the go, running around our hectic lives, eating very unhealthy foods. Especially in our college years, students are always on the go running to and from class grabbing a burger and fries from a campus restaurant or eating the microwaveable foods like ramen. Many people try to eat healthy, but always succumb to the stereotype that eating healthy is expensive and takes too much time. This is a common misconception because there are ways in which anyone can eat healthy and on a budget as long as they eat proper portions, eat the right kind of foods, and excessive.
For this paper I decided to take a second and evaluate my life and think about what were some of my current lifestyle habits and behaviors and which out of these habits would I like to change. After sitting down and evaluating all of my main habits I categorized them into groups of which ones were helping to lead me to a long healthy lifestyle and which ones were likely to lead me to an unhealthy life and lifestyle. After narrowing these unhealthy habits down to my top three I decided to focus this paper and my attention on my current nutrition and most of all on my negative eating habits. After evaluating my lifestyle and all of my unhealthy habits I felt that my current nutrition level and eating patterns were in need of the most improvement and change.
...omething to go. I found out that college student’s want foods that are quick, taste good, and cheap. The limitation to my research was that I only passed out ten surveys all at the cafeteria. Perhaps if I did more or passed them out at a different location I might have gotten different results. I also only interviewed two people, and a larger sample might have changed my results. Also only observing my roommates shopping might have limited me to what I always eat, other college students might buy healthier foods when they shop. Take a minute now and think about what you eat in an average day and see if you fall into the categories of eating unhealthy with the majority of college students. Next time you buy something to eat take a second and look what’s in it and think to yourself. Should I be eating this? Or is there something healthier that I could be eating?