College Students’ Campus Diet Offers Limited Healthy Options

By CAROLINE BEATRICE

With the ‘freshman 15′ weight gain being a harsh reality among most college students, Ramapo College students are left to fend for themselves when it comes down to choosing healthy options at the cafeterias on campus.

Ramapo College food supplier is Sodexo, which provides a wide variety of selection to eat. The freshman 15 is an epidemic as food is so readily accessible to students. Among students, hamburgers, at 660 calories, and chili cheese fries, at 650 calories, tend to be a fan favorite, yet when combined this reaches 1310 calories in just one meal. Eating so heavily often leaves one feeling sluggish and along with students constant access to food, students’ desire to exercise diminishes.

“Sodexo as a company prides themselves by shopping locally where the bread is supplied by Rockland Bakery, and the apples are local. Each unit uses vendors close to their location for fresh ingredients,”  says Gina Greco, a staff member for food services.

The cafeteria offers an wide array of choices, but it is in the student’s hands to choose carefully. Sandwiches, pizza, cereals, a salad bar, pasta and an entree of chicken/beef/ or pork are all available depending on the dining hall’s menu that day. Then the dining hall also offers an ice cream bar and desserts varying from cookies, cake, jello, and even rice crispies. Choosing healthier alternatives such as a chef salad at 180 calories can leave one feeling much more energetic and alert rather than if a bowl of pasta at 560 calories was chosen instead. Though healthy options are always available, they are not always taken advantage of.

A popular misconception about cafeteria food is that in contains low-grade meat or laxatives in the food. The dining service also provides nutrition facts on each meal, which is meant to urge students to pick the healthier options.

“There’s no laxatives in the food and the quality of the food is always substantial,” Greco says.

“According to the University of Pittsburgh’s Student Health Service, a survey of 302 college students at a large university revealed that only 39 percent exercised three or more times per week, and 76 percent ate the same foods each day.”

Poor diet can lead to stress and depression, experts say, which is why  maintaining a healthy diet in college so the practice can continue into later years. Home-cooked meals are easier when it comes down to knowing exactly what is being put into ones body. 

Student Nicole Bevacqua transitioned from cafeteria food to home-cooked meals and noticed a significant change in her overall health. “Cafeteria food just made me feel weighed down. Once I started eating home-cooked meals again I noticed I was not as bloated and had more energy.”

Bevacqua admits she does not have a regular exercise regimen, but eats roughly the same meals each day. She fits the stereotypical college student. Yet just the switch in food choices alone impacted her overall health.

Colleges aim to provide healthy options for their students, yet with temptation being a huge factor, salads are often overlooked and burgers are often a go-to just at first glimpse around the cafeteria. An hour at the gym tends to turn into an hour of Netflix, and a stroll outside is quickly put to rest when the option of a nap is available. Even if exercise is not the most appealing, a change in diet could significantly increase health.

Healthy habits need to be instilled in college students because it sets the bar for the rest of a person’s life. Living a healthy lifestyle is all about having willpower and being able to put down the greasy fries and instead choose a cup of fruit and with obesity and diabetes being a rising illness among many, it is important to constantly consider what is being ingested. Data from the Nurses’ Health Study suggest that 90 percent of type 2 diabetes in women can be attributed to five such factors: excess weight, lack of exercise, a less-than-healthy diet, smoking, and abstaining from alcohol. 

A healthy lifestyle can easily be attained by incorporating exercise, fruits, veggies and proteins into any diet, experts say. The key to preventing type 2 diabetes can be boiled down to five words: Stay lean and stay active.