Food Choices Of College Life And Time Affect Eating Habits

De Vos, P., Hanck, C., Neisingh, M., Prak, D., Groen, H., & Faas, M. M. (2015). Weight gain in freshman college students and perceived health. Preventive Medicine Reports, 2, 229–234.

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

Eating as a college student can have it shares of eating problems, healthy, deep fired, homemade and fast food. When in college, there is a moment when we are free of problems when suddenly one problem shows up with another one showing up few moments with a third one not far apart equaling not one, not two but three problems that need to be fixed. From one of those three problems is hunger because it’s common for people to be hungry anytime of the day. Eduardo Martinez’s interesting argument article “A college argument”, has an interested argument that its target audience is college students because for starters, it has the subject college within the title making it easy to whom it talks about.

My article was about the dreaded freshman 15 and how it’s common for freshman students to gain weight during their first year. The article talks about if students actually gain 15 pounds just in their first year alone. Some studies have said that this is false, and the average weight gain is closer to around 7 and ½ pounds. While this isn’t so bad, the article goes on to show where all those calories will be coming from, and give tips as to how to avoid weight gain. The article mentions how to pick healthy food in the dining hall, and how to eat less while there. It advises also getting into habits of going to the gym and staying active alongside eating healthy. Lastly, it talks about snacking in between meals and drinking calories. The author

Obesity is a common problem found across all demographics in the U.S., and is increasingly more prevalent amongst college age students. The “Freshman 15” is a real phenomenon that many young people face in their first year of independence from their homes. Students have their first experiences in choosing meals for themselves. One of the main reasons why college students put on this added weight when they leave home is the selection provided by their universities dining center. A quick glance at NDSU’s dining menus allows one to see that the deserts are what headline the menu, with the entrée options listed towards the bottom, as can be seen in FIGURE 1. This menu design influences the choices of the students; it subconsciously encourages

The myth indicates that first-year college students either gain fifteen pound from eating unhealthy or lose fifteen pounds due to not eating during their first years in college. We are all encouraged to take health class in college and learn about nutrients, but we can barely apply our knowledge to campus food. Cal Poly Pomona provides various options for food around campus, but not every dining space is healthy. As diligent students around campus, I believe the campus should improve its dining options. The common phrase: “You are what you eat” is highly emphasized in health class. I suggest the replacement of Round Table Pizza with healthier local restaurants that will serve students. Our campus does not serve fish to its students, but fish is high in Omega-3 fatty acids which boost body and brain functions. As students visually see the implementation of healthy food alternatives on campus, they will apply the knowledge from health class upon their diets. In health class, we were instructed to track our diets with the MyPlate. Through my food tracking on the website, I learned what food groups I was overeating and others that I was under eating. This website mapped out my goals for dairy, fruits, vegetables, carbohydrates, calories and sugars intakes which enabled me to visualize my diet. I would suggest that Cal Poly Pomona offers the MyPlate as an option for students to do over a quarter of 0.5 units so students

Obesity in America is a very prevalent issue that is affecting all generations. According to the 2015 American Obesity study, more than two-thirds of adults are obese. This is due partially to oversized portions and processed food, however, one of the biggest reasons is the lack of good eating habits while growing up. In college, students go for the more convenient food options that are generally extremely unhealthy and processed. The lack of healthy food options for students hinders the ability to create good eating habits for later in life. Grand Canyon University should establish healthier food options in campus because it will help students eat less processed foods which are causing sickness and unhealthy lifestyles.

McHugh uses the examples of low education levels to prove that children with low education levels cannot make healthy decisions. Socioeconomic status is another example that consist of children dealing with poverty, which means they are unable to afford nutritional food. “Healthy eating and exercise regimes can cause conflict and confusion for adolescents under the influence of families who are promoting differing ideals, especially within indigenous communities.” (McHugh, B.

Julianne Tarullo, a journalist from the Huffington Post and press coordination of NBCUniversal Media, explains the nutritional challenges of a college student in her article “Nutrition in College: Answers From the Experts.” Weight gain, eating habits, fad diets, drinking, and weight management are some of the nutritional challenges that a college student may face. Tarullo’s article relates to a topic of why college years are a nutritional challenge, which is a topic discussed in chapter 7 of “Get Fit Stay Well.”

This academic conversation expands on the broader hunger-obesity paradox of the 21st century and also attempts to explain how it has become a prevalent issue. Although there are numerous factors that cause hunger, these articles focus on unforeseen factors that have been contributing to the rising obesity rates, in particular to the low-income populations in the United States. In other words, this conversation discusses the factors that do not initially appear to have an effect on obesity rates, such as racial inequality and federal food assistance programs, and argues that they do significantly contribute to the prevalent health issue. The articles analyzed for this paper are Baum (2011) “The effects of food stamps on obesity” from the Southern Economic Journal; Darmon and Drewnowski (2005) “The economics of obesity: dietary energy density and energy cost” from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; and Broady and Meeks (2015) “Obesity and social inequality in America” from the Review of Black Political Economy. These authors all discuss the factors behind rising obesity rates, but do so from different perspectives. Although the topic of hunger requires authors to appeal to pathos, the authors addressing the hunger-obesity paradox approach similar conclusions by incorporating logos and ethos into their arguments to further allow readers to quantify the severity and dangers of the paradox in relation to the dangerously high and continually rising obesity rates.

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).

In the present day, making the right choices regarding nutrition has become exceedingly difficult. In this fast paced world, many with busy schedules are opting for fast food choices due to convenience. The issue being raised is on what merit people make nutritional decisions and whether they make healthy or unhealthy choices. Various factors play in this process such as personal ideologies, societal expectations, and many more. What this study aims to do is compare the nutritional decisions of genders, specifically to examine if there is variation between males and females in making healthy nutritional decisions. Previous studies on this topic have shown that females choose healthier options compared to males (Wardle et al., 2004). The study also went further to state that this was both due to the prevalence of dieting in women and that women regarded healthy eating as more significant (Oakes & Slotterback, 2001). Higher dieting prevalence in women can be related to the fact that there are certain societal expectations in Western culture concerning the female body (Swami et al., 2010). This study will examine if the above research translates into real life scenarios. We will observe the potential variance between the genders in nutritional choices, specifically the number of females and males who will choose the healthy option when having to choose between two fast food restaurants, with one restaurant being the healthy choice and the other the unhealthy

Losing weight seems like one of the hardest things in the world to do, but gaining it is effortless. It is normal to put on pounds in college, no matter how hard students try to keep it from happening. Anyone I ask reports the same result of having gained weight in the first year of college. Student weight gain has become so popular that the phrase “freshman fifteen” stemmed from it because college freshman gain an apparent fifteen pounds in one year. Fifteen pounds is not an accurate number, however. It is really an exaggeration of the actual amount weight gained. Nonetheless, pounds are put on and something must be done to stop it. Students need to take responsibility for their own actions. What they do, eat, or drink can have a large impact on their weight. Colleges should also work with students and within themselves to promote a change in the aspects of the college environment that contribute to added pounds. Even if it is not fifteen pounds, any weight gained has a negative effect towards health and unhealthy habits developed in college could be hard to break when college ends. Teaching students and colleges how to promote a healthy lifestyle now will continue these beneficial habits in the future for both the college and the student.

In Driskell, Kim, & Goebel’s (2005) article, the researchers assessed and compared the eating and physical activity habits of a group of lower-level (freshmen and sophomores) and upper-level (juniors and seniors) students at a midwestern university who are enrolled in an introductory nutrition course. The researchers found that although the students had similar habits such as similar snacking practices, nonalcoholic beverage consumption, places of meal consumption, factors influencing food choices, duration and frequency of various types of physical activity, and places of physical performance, there were significance differences. The significant differences between groups, pointed out by the researchers, were of the following: frequency of afternoon snack consumption, frequency of eating in university in university cafeterias, typical time spent walking, typical frequency of performing other aerobic activities, and factors that most influenced their physical activity habits.

The debate about food and class comes down to education because the idea of being taught lies at the center of the debate or socially conditioned. Food classification and the rules are passed down from one generation to another as advice concerning what to eat or what makes a suitable meal, the time to eat, food preparation method, process and safe food preparation strategies. Our descendants figured out what to eat to meet their energy and nutrition demands and then passed it down to their descendants through enculturation. The practice has continued, and it is with this that the type of food consumption can be assumed or examined as evidence of