Does the Lack of Healthy Food On Campus Affect You?
posted by Jasmin Best | November 21, 2019 | In OpinionCollege is a place where a lot of us build habits that we will take with us into the rest of our lives. One of these habits includes the way in which we eat.
Many students who live on campus will only be exposed to the food options here on campus, which most of the time are not very healthy. If we are not exposed to healthier food options now in order to change our diets, it will only get worse in the real world.
Many of us come from families where health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart conditions, and more are passed down from generation to generation. The first problems associated with heart disease start in the early twenties. Arteries can begin to harden in individuals who lack proper nutrition, as many college students do.
In order to get a better understanding of the healthy food options we do have here on campus, I decided to go to each store myself. As I walked around campus desperately trying to find something, I noticed that there was a lack of healthy options from which to choose. I left the store in the School of Business, and
worked my way all the way to Chick-fil-A.
As I perused through C3. The rows of chips, candy, and granola bars began to trouble me. I went to the frozen section only to be greeted with a bunch of frozen foods packed with sodium and preservatives. That just would not do. Desperate to find something worth buying I searched the store for a healthier alternative only to find a tiny section of not food, but snacks. Skinny pop, turkey jerky, a few sandwiches, and almond milk. Nothing of substance that you could really use to make a meal, or simply to eat and get full.
We all know the cafe offers the “healthiest” options among all of the food places here on campus. But what does the cafe really offer other than the salad bar, the deli for wraps and sandwiches, and a few vegan meals?
Chick-fil-A, a famous fast food chain here on campus, only serves a few healthy options which the meal exchange swipes doesn’t even cover.
The Bronco Grill only serves a side salad.
Unhealthy eating habits are being normalized on campus. The bad eating habits that we form now can have a long term and potentially serious effects on us, like increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and cancer.
A lot of unhealthy eating habits in college stems from lack of choices, lack of time and money, but most importantly a lack of knowledge. Not knowing the right things to eat, mixed with lack of access to healthier food options can lead to poor eating habits.
Do you always find it harder to focus in your morning classes? When you sit down to try and study do you find it easy to get off task and do something else? This could all stem from the way you eat. Poor eating habits can also lead to decreased focus, energy, and immunity. Eating healthier foods can lead to better focus, increased immunity, and it can help you study better as well. Until a bigger variety of healthy food options are offered on campus, including more fruits and veggies into your diet daily can help.
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