Entering college, everything can be extremely overwhelming but at the same time new and exciting. A majority of young seventeen/eighteen-year-olds are used to having a parent around to make sure they are participating in a sport, eating the right foods and getting the proper amount of sleep every night. College gives students the opportunity to be independent and finally make choices for themselves.
One of the biggest obstacles many students have to overcome when entering college is to keep themselves healthy all on their own. Proper nutrition is very hard when there are so many temptations only a building away in the delicious dining hall including unlimited ice cream, mac and cheese and pizza. As a freshman, I, like many others I am sure, had no idea how to avoid these tempting foods and how to take care of myself on my own.
In addition, because everyone has a different body, some people have the metabolism to eat more, drink more and not gain any weight. Unfortunately for me, I was not one of these people and I very quickly discovered I could not handle the unhealthy eating and drinking lifestyle some of my friends had.
KidsHealth.org specifically the teen health section is a great website that gives young college students such as myself tips as to how to create a healthy diet for yourself in college. There are many easy to follow pictures which help with portion control, which in a buffet style dining hall is extremely beneficial. This website was surprisingly extremely relatable due to the fact that the first story that appears is exactly what I was like freshman year: good intentions. This part of the website discusses how even if you intend to eat healthy when entering a dining hall, temptation is very hard to overcome. This website goes through each food group and the nutrients they hold, discusses why it is so important for your body and lists several different sources that you can get these nutrients from. I thought the most interesting part about this web page was that it also has a section on healthy snacking which is very
helpful for those who are fans of late night snacking while studying (also me.) Usually, most articles will talk about how snacking late at night is altogether bad but this talks about how to make better decisions to satisfy your cravings while studying just in a healthier way.
As a nutrition educator, I would use this program to promote healthy eating among college students and to teach high school seniors who are soon off to college. I would use this information to show students how to use their meal plans to get healthy foods instead of just pizza and desserts. I would direct students to their college’s website that gives a full nutrition information for menu items given at the dining halls. Nutrition, in my opinion, affects everything including energy to do school work, go to the gym, participate in activities and confidence in yourself. If you eat good you tend to feel good so having an education session about this direct correlation would highly benefit these students. I would definitely also highlight the importance of portion control. The chart that this website gives is so incredibly helpful and easy to follow that I think it would be great to have all over college dining halls and given out when students first come to college. Also, the tips given on this website that discuss “Overcoming Dining Hall Mistakes” would be great to include on the back because the tips such as not lingering and staying hydrated are keys to making sure you will choose the right foods. As a college student for the past 3 years, I wish that I had guidance that told me exactly what to eat and when to eat it so that I did not have to suffer some of the sudden freshman weight that some of us unfortunate girls have to put on. This website is very beneficial and I would definitely use it as a source for my nutrition education.
http://kidshealth.org/teen/school_jobs/college/dining_hall.html#