“Even having a nutritionist as a mother will not force
teenagers to eat healthy, they do what they want, that’s how it’s always been,
and that’s how it always will be!” We are always being told what should be in
our refrigerators. We are exposed to thousands of advertisements that
demonstrate a healthy diet, and it’s usually up to parents to provide the
necessary food groups to keep their children on a balanced diet. The problem
starts when kids go off to college. Parents try to prepare their children for
life on their own, but parents don’t realize that nutrition is important for
college students to think about. Sure, there is the dining hall that serves as
student’s main food source, but what about snacks, and the times that students
don’t want to trudge across campus? A college student’s refrigerator must be
filled, but with what?
According
to “My Plate,” released in 2011, teenagers between the ages of nine and eighteen
should consume one and a half cups of fruit each day. Two and a half cups of
vegetables are recommended, along with five ounces of protein, six servings of
grains (three of those servings should be whole grains), three cups of dairy,
six teaspoons of oil, and 260 discretionary calories. Discretionary calories
are the calories that can be consumed by eating a candy bar or a few cookies.
Those 260 calories go quickly, so be careful! Just by walking around any
college’s dining hall, it is evident that these recommendations are not
followed.
Marianne
Heffrin says, “The dates on the food in the refrigerator are not often checked,
because when [my son] asks me, ‘Mom, this salsa has been in here for four
months, do you think it is still good?’ and I open it up and it has things
growing out of it, you know, it’s pretty gross.” Heffrin has two sons and a
daughter who are all currently college students. She is also a certified
nutritionist and a nutrition professor at Endicott College. Needless to say,
she is familiar with the way college students eat, and what makes up their
diet, as well as what should make up their diet. I personally am not the first
one to walk into the dining hall and start counting calories, though I can
imagine most of the student body doesn’t do this either. Teenagers recognize
the general healthy foods from the unhealthy foods, but it comes down to the
individual choices we make. The “buffet style” option puts a variety of foods
in front of students. The convenience of grabbing pasta and bread every day can
be tempting.
There are
all kinds of myths about the freshman fifteen, which is becoming less like a
myth, and more like a fact. The reason that college students come home after
their first year at college heavier than when they left is not just because of
the freedom they have in the dining hall, but it is also because they don’t
know what food to buy for their dorms. They have the freedom to walk around
Target and grab Oreos, soda, and ice cream. Regardless of whether it is their
own money or their parent’s money, they still have the freedom to eat however
they chose. Most college students won’t go to the organic section of the
grocery store and buy vegetables that would go together in a salad; however,
there are simple solutions to keeping a healthy diet without a full kitchen, or
wallet for that matter.
For those
of us that aren’t as fortunate to have our parents spot us some money for
groceries, it’s difficult to stay healthy on a tight budget. According to
Heffrin, the economic factor of buying healthy food in the grocery store is one
of the main reasons why it is not realistic for college students to have a
healthy diet. It is still possible, however, to eat healthy on a low budget,
and there are certain food groups that college students should keep in their
refrigerator.
Many
colleges in today’s world offer a deal to rent a refrigerator and a microwave
together for the year. This way, students can store snacks in their rooms, and
heat up Hot Pockets instead of going to the dining hall for dinner. Since college students have the freedom to go
shopping on their own, it is not typical for them to chose the healthier foods,
most will chose the foods that are easy to make, or easy to take on the go. On
the other hand, it isn’t fair to generalize all college students as being
unhealthy. There are the college athletes that must stick to a certain diet,
and are good at choosing healthy food in the dining hall, and healthy snacks
for their refrigerators. Sometimes it can get difficult for students to
discipline themselves because nobody is there to tell them to buy an apple to
keep in the refrigerator, or buy water bottles instead of soda bottles.
Heffrin
makes a point that dairy is definitely a necessity in a college student’s diet,
and the dining halls do provide dairy. However, it is a good idea to keep fruit
in your refrigerator because the dining halls usually don’t provide a good
variety. It is important to have a variety, instead of the same options-
apples, oranges, or bananas- and having fruit for a snack, instead of cookies
or candy, is a good way to improve your diet.
These years
as a college student are the most important to keep a healthy diet. Marianne
Heffrin proves that every teenager is different, whether they are self-motivated
or on a tight budget; it comes down to the choices we make and the desire to
have a healthy diet.
Q: Is there a difference between a family refrigerator and a
student’s refrigerator at school? Why are they different?
A: Well there is definitely the economic factor, so you have
to spend the money, and you want to buy products with a longer shelf life. It’s
only you that’s eating it, so it’s really buying for one, and how you are going
to spend your money the most wisely. For example, fruit, you know, if you buy
so many bananas, you have to eat that many bananas, or apples, which last a
little bit longer. Grapes are something you would eat quickly because they go
bad sooner, and you don’t want to waste that money. Or buying milk, which only
last for so many days, it’s not ideal for students to buy gallons of milk
because it would go sour. It all goes back to the idea of losing money; it’s
all about the cost.
Q: What essential food groups do college students need in
their diet?
A: Dairy for sure, protein, um, your carbohydrates, your
complex carbohydrates, which don’t need to be refrigerated, and some of the
essential fats. Olive oil, margarine, and nuts are all good sources of
essential fats.
Q: You mentioned carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates,
what are complex carbohydrates, are they snacks such as granola bars?
A: Complex carbohydrates, which don’t need to be
refrigerated, can include cereal, whole grain cereal, whole grain bread, brown
rice, you know, different grains. A granola bar is a complex carbohydrate, but
it can have some unhealthy ingredients, depending on what brand you buy, but
technically, it is a complex carbohydrate.
Q: Do you think it is realistic for college students to have
all of the essential food groups in their dorm refrigerators, such as olive oil
or margarine?
A: So specifically in a college student’s refrigerator, not
necessarily, but you would probably want to go with a low-fat cheese or any
dairy. It is also a good idea to have fruit that you could keep in there,
because usually in a college cafeteria, the fruits and the vegetables aren’t so
good. The dining halls are usually good at providing the dairy. In terms of
oil, hopefully the dining halls would provide healthy oils, but a lot of times
cafeterias have budget constraints, so if you were really specific about having
oils, you would have to provide it for yourself and keep it in the dorm
refrigerator.
Q: You mentioned you have a son in college…
A: I have three children in college (laughs).
Q: Wow! So you must be familiar with their eating habits and
what their refrigerators look like.
A: Yes, it’s actually interesting to see the differences
between all of their refrigerators. My daughter, who is a senior, has a very
healthy refrigerator. She eats really healthy; she will have whole grain
cereal, fruit, soymilk, things like tofu, a lot of vegetarian products. I have
a son too who was just on break, and his refrigerator is horrifying. I think in
his refrigerator he has beer, which he tells me is a carbohydrate (laughs),
salsa, margarine, and Frank’s Hot Sauce. Most often he will have bacon and
peperoni, and he will call those his main food groups. And then I have another
son, who, I would assume, has healthy foods in his refrigerator. He really
likes fruit, he will have milk usually, and he will buy cereal, he lives in a
frat house, so he has his own refrigerator, and he will buy healthy things to
have in there, because he has to buy his own food.
The dates
on the food in the refrigerator are not often checked, because when he asks me,
“Mom, this salsa has been in here for four months, do you think it is still
good?” and you open it up and it has things growing out of it, you know, it’s
pretty gross.
Q: And this goes to show that a parent cannot really control
what is in their child’s refrigerator, even if they have a certified
nutritionist as their mother
A: No. Absolutely not. You can set the foundation, and hope
that they go with it, and then when they are home, you try to provide the foods
that are good for them, recognizing that you can do that about 20% of the time,
and 80% of the time they are making their own decisions. And hopefully the
dining halls are providing healthier foods. I know that the schools that they
are at, the cafeteria food is not that great, it’s really not. But they are
also providing for mass quantities, and unless you have an independent
contractor, or food service provider, you don’t get good food quality.
Q: Do you see a difference in a female’s diet versus a
male’s diet in college, or in their refrigerators?
A: Probably, in general, yes. It sounds a little sexist. Well,
I have a son who has a healthy refrigerator, probably healthier than most
girls. On the other hand, girls are more conscious about their weight, but not
always making the right decisions. So I think it really depends on the
individual.
Q: So do you think an athletes refrigerator….
A: I was just going to say, I think athletes, who are true
athletes who eat for performance, their refrigerator will be a little different.
You know, they will probably have yogurts, and not that you put power bars in
the refrigerator, but they would have those, and they might have other dairy
products in there. They might have more fruits and vegetables.
Q: So the freshman fifteen is a myth, but it seems like it
is becoming more like a fact. Do you see this issue as up to the students, and
their personal refrigerator, or are the dining halls to blame for this?
A: I think it’s the dining hall. Actually, I think it’s a
lot of factors. It’s social eating, it’s eating without your parents being
there, and it’s not having access to the foods that you always make. Some of
the dining hall foods are made with more fat, it’s sort of like being at a
buffet, and having to make those choices, which isn’t always easy, versus just
having something that is served to you. I always say to my kids when they come
home, “Isn’t it nice to just go in the refrigerator and make what you want,
what you like?” I know when I was in college, we would sit around the table and
talk, and then we would put salt and pepper all over the food, because we kept
picking, you know, so it was kind of like unlimited quantities.
Q: So again, it is also the money aspect, students cannot
afford to go out and buy the foods that should be in their diets, because of
the cost. They buy the simple things that they can buys such as applesauce, I
know my roommates and I have applesauce in our refrigerator, and we didn’t even
spend money on spoons to eat it with. So cost is a big issue.
A: Yeah, it is, money is a huge issue.
Q: Teenage girls are supposed to consume two cups of fruit,
and two and a half cups of vegetables; do you think this is a realistic goal
for college students to reach?
A: No. It’s too expensive. So you have to supplement that
with what the college provides, hopefully there is a decent salad bar, and you
can get some apples and bananas to take back and put in your refrigerator. I
think its hard for college students to reach these recommendations when they
are away at school, and not at home where Mom has a bowl of fruit out on the
counter, or you open the refrigerator, and you don’t have to go out and buy
anything.
It’s
unfortunate, these schools, they have their budget constraints, but they don’t
have more responsibility to keep healthy, some schools do because they have
more access to things, where they have independent contractors come in. I
looked at Cornell University with my daughter, and she was going to go there
just for the food, because it was all these independent food contractors, but
it was expensive. I also think this is why a lot of kids get sick, because they
don’t eat right when they go away to college.
Q: Yeah, it is a huge adjustment, being exposed to so many
choices, and like you said, it is like a giant buffet every day.
A: Right, right, and it’s not always low fat, and there’s
not always a lot of fruits and vegetables, because the fruit is sometimes
pretty substantial, which is why having those foods in your dorm refrigerator
is important.
