College life offers many eating pitfalls

In a place with no parental control, no dietitian overseeing what is being consumed, and no… In a place with no parental control, no dietitian overseeing what is being consumed, and no limit on the option of having pizza every day, a student’s food pyramid is shaped more like an hourglass.

On campus, students say that is it is hard to eat a balanced meal. Perhaps more importantly, it is very easy not to.

Britt Donnell, a junior business and communications major, frequently eats pizza at Schenely Cafe in the William Pitt Union. The 20-year-old said she has “the worst” eating habits: She doesn’t eat breakfast, she doesn’t like vegetables, she doesn’t eat fruit — “I can’t afford it, so why would I eat it?” — and she eats lots of snacks, like chocolate-chip cookies, candy and smores Pop Tarts.

Unlike her two roommates, who baked squash for dinner, Donnell said, “I can’t afford to cook in Forbes Craig [apartment building] because I have no money for groceries.” She had used up all her dining dollars by the beginning of March, so she spends her meal blocks on pizza, fried chicken sandwiches and an occasional sub.

Across the hall from Donnell, Laura Johnson, 20, a sophomore biology and anthropology major, forces herself to eat healthy foods. For dinner, Johnson usually eats brown rice with frozen vegetables and chicken, or whole-wheat pasta with tomato sauce. For lunch, she’ll eat a turkey sandwich with non-fat mayo on whole wheat.

“I think it is very hard to eat healthy [by] just eating campus food. There’s no selection, especially because they took out the salad bars at Eddie’s and the Union,” Johnson said. “The only thing healthy that I can think of is the packaged salads or a sub without dressing.”

Johnson, who lived in Tower B her freshman year, said her eating habits have changed.

“I think I’m just as healthy. I just eat different foods,” she said. She doesn’t eat as much campus food now that she lives in Forbes Craig, where she has an oven, stove, microwave and full-size refrigerator.

“It is all about balancing,” Johnson said. She keeps unhealthy food to one meal a day, if she feels forced to eat something like pizza or a hamburger.

Johnson, who thinks that it is cheaper to buy groceries than to buy campus food, spends $60 every two weeks at Giant Eagle.

Off-campus students without a meal plan should be spending $30 to $40 a week on food, according to Paula Martin, Student Health Service’s registered dietitian. She said a student could get by with spending less, but she has her doubts about how healthy it would be.

Martin provides general assistance for students who want to eat well.

Pointing out that the main problems with students’ eating habits are large portions and a lack of diversity in food choices, Martin recommended that on-campus students eat the hot meal blocks because they have a “good balance of foods.”

If students followed dietary guidelines, the myth that good food is expensive food would be dispelled.

“Students should be able to spend $7 to $8 a day, $10 max, on all of their meals if they buy food on sale and in season,” Martin said. “If students buy all organic products, then it will be expensive.”

Recommending canned and frozen products, Martin said students just need a can opener and a microwave to eat healthy, and most students have those.

Students should buy store-brand products because “a lot of the products are made by the same companies. [Store brands] just don’t spend money on advertising,” Martin said.

Students can also cut down on cost by getting the family packages of meats and freezing them in single servings.

Martin recommends that students make a large dish on the weekend and package it in the freezer to be eaten throughout the week.

“This is a great time in students’ lives to be adventurous with food,” Martin said, recommending that students plan to eat healthy and make it part of their lifestyle habits.

Martin also advised that students should use a variety of protein sources: beans, low-fat dairy products, eggs and canned meats, like tuna and chicken. Explaining that high-sugar drinks increase appetite, she also recommends not drinking many fruit juices, sodas and energy drinks that are high in sugar. Students should limit their intake of any soda, including diet drinks, to 12 ounces a day, because they could be drinking milk, water or orange juice instead.

“The food guide pyramid gets a bad rap, but it’s very appropriate,” Martin said.

Like most people, students will eat a lot of food if they are served a lot of food, she said.

“Our portions are completely out of control,” Martin said. “A child-size portion at a fast food restaurant today was an adult-size less than 20 years ago.”

“Students who want to eat healthy will seek out the resources to do so, including talking to food services or meeting with me,” Martin said. “I encourage all students to make their voices known. The students are the customers to the food service company.”

Paula Martin’s Advice: eat breakfast use low-fat dairy products drink water instead of sodas and energy drinks always get a vegetable serving go to all the on-campus eateries to get a variety don’t overindulge exercise.