I recently visited a college dormitory and saw the facilities college students had to live in for the next 1-4 years of their lives. I'm not sure if this applies to every college, but at UCSD, the residential halls comes with a kitchen that has a toaster, microwave, and fridge. This makes cooking a nice meal, if a student can, almost impossible, so when college students need to eat, they go to the dining halls or a restaurant on campus. The majority of what they eat is dependent on what the school kitchen provides, so are college students getting the appropriate nutrition they need?
Of all the articles I've read, it has been said that the cafeteria offers the nutritious food, but it's up to the students to take the veggie offers rather than to go for the delicious, cheesy pizza. Should colleges do more to promote healthful eating in their schools, or should the responsibility fall on the students?
I agree, that is ridiculous to expect us to be able to maintain our health with limited utensils like that. Everyone is always pushing healthy eating but how can we do that without appropriate tools? And then we may be put at the mercy of the dining halls that may or may not serve very healthy food.
ReplyDeleteIf I was given to choice between a cheesy slice of pizza or some steamed vegetables, my taste buds would begin to water at the mere sight of that pizza. I would gobble that pizza with no remorse, until of course the slice is being digested in my stomach while I realize how terrible it is for me. I definitely worry of being a victim of the "freshman 15" trend, but I know that with the things you've mentioned above, Duyen, I am the only one that can prevent this. We know we will be limited with our resources for nutritious meals and all we can do as broke college students is to decide wisely.
ReplyDeleteI have read various stories about how unhealthy fast food really is. I know that fast food causes obesity, has high calorie content, and alarming preservatives, yet I still eat chicken nuggets from McDonald's and burgers at In-N-Out. I care a tiny bit about how unhealthy fast food really is but it just tastes so good! Due to all this, I feel that we should be responsible for the food that we choose to eat.
ReplyDeleteI think that if a college student really want to eat healthy they would make the effort. The only thing that may stop them is that it's more work than to just go to a fast food restaurant and eat something from there. I do notice that fast food is unhealthy and I try not to eat it often but when no one feels like cooking, we have to settle for the fast food. And in college, students tend to always g for the easy route.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like the only way to make people realize the importance of healthy eating is to prove that it is a life or death situation, and it truly is! People need to be educated on the serious consequences of overeating and inactivity. During my stay at Purdue University we were given meal cards. These meal cards allowed us to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner once a day, but it also allowed us unlimited amounts of food for each meal. Have you all heard of the Freshman 15? Freshman 15 is an expression referring to college first-years who gain 15 pounds. They do not know any better. With a meal card in their hand, they are going to take advantage of the opportunity. Maybe if health classes did not just brush over the subject of obesity and focused heavily on the health risk, lifestyles would be different. Obesity is not a condition that should be taken lightly; we need to stress the seriousness of this topic.
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