Discussion of The Issue of Healthy Eating in College

Food is a common way that people cope with their issues. In college, students like food a lot, and it is important that they eat well. Many different things have causes and effects on food, one being stress. When people are stressed, they deal with it by either overeating, or they do not eat enough. Either way, these are not good ways of dealing with stress. Food does many different things for our bodies, including giving us energy, keeping our bodies warm, and helping the body function both mentally and physically. Different foods serve different purposes, so it is very important to eat well-balanced meals with a variety of food groups. College students have a hard time eating well; one thing that college students ask themselves and others is “How do you not get the freshman 15?” Well, the key would be to eat healthily, but if it was that easy the freshman 15 wouldn’t be a thing. Students are putting their health at risk because they are paying attention to what is cheap, fast, and easy rather than what is healthy for them. They are not paying attention to what the consequences of unhealthy eating are and the different ways that it can affect your lives. For instance, having physical, emotional, mentally, social, and academic issues. Eating properly is a health issue and can affect how you function in your daily life.

Fast food: It's yummy, fast and cheap. Some places you do not even have to get out of your car to receive food. For college students, it doesn’t get better. This is what most college students think, and they know that fast food is unhealthy, but for most the convenience outweighs the “unhealthy”. Students tend to keep choosing fast food to “fuel” their bodies. If you can even call it that. A study by Sogari, Velexz-Argumedo, Gómez, and Mora states “Even if health seemed to be important for everyone when choosing food, students did not take health into consideration as the most important factor, but usually pleasure and taste” (Sogari, Velexz-Argumedo, Gómez, Mora). Many different things play into these decisions though: One being money and another being the convenience. It is expensive to eat healthy foods as an adult, let alone for a college student who is living on their own for the first time. Naturally, fast food is going to be an easy way out. Time plays a big role in not eating healthy as well. If someone is hungry and they have a lot going on, they are most likely not going to take the time to stop and eat a nice, full, and healthy meal. Instead, they will go to the quickest option that will suffice for the time being, which in most cases, would be some sort of fast food. These are not good reasons to have this food. Fast food is fattening and has lots of calories, which can eventually lead to health issues. For example, Healthline's says, “No amount of trans fat is good or healthy. Eating foods that contain it can increase your LDL(bad cholesterol), lower your HDL (good cholesterol), and increase your risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease' (Pietrangelo, Carey, and Holland, 2018). Fast food is just the easiest way to take care of hunger fast. Universities make it so easy for college students to get pulled into a trap. For instance, Colorado Mesa University has over 15 fast-food restaurants that are either on-campus or at a reasonable walking distance from the campus. For instance, as I was sitting here writing this paper, I was pulled in to go eat some Chick-fil-a. I went and got food from here because I needed something, fast, cheap, and yummy. I got my needs fulfilled in that case but on the other hand, I feel kind of gross and unhealthy.

Being a college student at Colorado Mesa University my eating habits have changed a lot. I was raised eating very healthy. I grew up in Durango Colorado which is a very small-town community. My family and I would bike downtown to the local farmers market every weekend and get food there. Then we would go to the local health food store and only on an occasion we would go to City Market which my mom would consider a pretty unhealthy store. Growing up this way I was very limited from the so-called “unhealthy food” we never got fast food and treats were special occasions. When I was given freedom and independence, I would take advantage of that and I would eat unhealthily. This is the case for many college students. For instance, going and getting fast food, eating as many desserts as they want and more. If someone is not healthy it is hard for them to stay happy and enjoy things. That is what I try to stay clear of doing. For some people, it is hard to believe that there is a connection between the food we eat and our mental health. There have been studies that have proven this to be true. One source even has a name for it: the “Food-Mood Connection”. There are certain things that you have to focus on to give your body the right food to have the best mental health that is possible for you. If you do not want food to affect your mental health, then there are some things that you need to pay attention to such as food patterns and the things you eat, when you eat them. Knowing what foods, you are putting into your body along with the amount that you are putting into your body is important because it can affect you in different ways.

Another reason that students tend to eat unhealthily is because of how much food is served at the cafeteria. Most students who live on campus are required to have a meal plan. The cafeteria is open for most of the day with a wide variety of food options to eat. This, in turn, makes it hard for students to eat healthy because of the amount of food served. You always have the option of going up and getting more food. You can have a five-course meal in one sitting. At Colorado Mesa University, the food is provided by a company named Sodexo. Karina Krul a student life editor said, “Sodexo provides food to over 500 school districts and 850 universities and over 800 different countries” (Krul, 2017). Sodexo was given the food rating of F, meaning that their food is bad quality. Sodexo claims that they are “revamping” their recipes, but these “revamped recipes” are just food from the previous day in a different form. Karina states that “Sodexo gives the illusion of having healthy food” (Krul, 2017). For example, students mention, “The food may sound healthy, but it is heavily processed and high in carbohydrates, fat, and chemicals” (Krul, 2017). For me, the first thing that comes to mind is why in the world would someone want to put chemicals into their body. When you are eating food with chemicals, that is going to affect your body in negative ways and may be causing you to get sick or to just gain weight. This is partly why college students have a hard time eating and staying healthy when in college.

College students need to eat healthy because it helps their emotional and physical health, and overall, it helps them have energy. College students are constantly busy, always stressed, and overwhelmed. The freshman are especially affected as they have a lot of new things added to their life and their everyday schedule. That’s why when a college student doesn’t eat healthily, it can affect them in many ways emotionally and physically, making it hard for them to live their everyday life.

Work Cited

1. Fitzgerald, Dylan. “Nutrition and Mental Health.” Familydoctor.org, 8 June 2017, familydoctor.org/nutrition-mental-health/.
2. Posted under Health Guides. Updated 17 October 2019. +Related Content. “College Health: Eating and Fitness 101.” Center for Young Women's Health, 24 Oct. 2019, youngwomenshealth.org/2012/02/22/eating-and-fitness-in-college/.
3. Ann Pietrangelo and Elea Carey and Kimberly Holland. “13 Effects of Fast Food on the Body.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 17 Sept. 2018, www.healthline.com/health/fast-food-effects-on-body.
4. Writers, Staff. “Staying Healthy in College: Eating & Weight Loss Tips .” AffordableCollegesOnline.org, AffordableCollegesOnline.org, 12 Nov. 2019, www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/college-student-fitness-and-nutrition/.
5. Sogari, et al. “College Students and Eating Habits: A Study Using An Ecological Model for Healthy Behavior.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 23 Nov. 2018, https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/10/12/1823/htm.