Dining Guide: Placement of dorms may make difference between fit and fat

Incoming freshmen are often teased by relatives to beware getting fat during their first year at Pitt. 

But there’s certainly some truth to the relatives’ endless warnings against the freshman 15. 

According to a 2011 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the college experience — consisting of late-night studying, excessive boozing and making meals without parents — might not be the sole factor in the common weight gain among many first-year students. Rather, the distance between freshmen dorms to campus cafeterias and exercise facilities could be the culprit.

The streets of Oakland, where most freshmen spend their first two semesters at Pitt, are packed with fast food restaurants, frozen yogurt shops and burrito bars. Additionally, students are able to eat at on-campus dining halls with a seemingly endless number of meal swipes and dining dollars. 

The 2010 study examined the eating and exercise habits of 144 male and 244 female freshmen from the University of Marquette, the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It concluded that students’ “physical environments” affect their “weight changes and weight-related behaviors.”

The results claimed that students living in dormitories closer to dining halls gained significantly more weight on average and showed more dangerous dieting habits in comparison to students who were not assigned to dormitories close to dining facilities.

The study showed that students assigned to dormitories close to a campus gym exercised more frequently on average and, therefore, gained less weight.

The results reported that women who lived closer to an on-campus cafeteria weighed almost two pounds more than women who lived further away from an on-campus cafeteria and exercised an average of 1 1/2 times less per week than women who lived closer to an on-campus gym.

Male students who lived closer to on-campus cafeterias consumed 22 percent more meals and 38 percent more snacks than men who lived further from cafeterias. 

Female students living closer to a campus gym exercised 54 percent more frequently than females living off campus, and female students who lived closer to the center of  campus exercised 97 percent less. 

Kandice Kapinos, a professor at the University of Michigan and lead author of the study, said that additional factors, including genetics and social environment, influence weight gain. “We were not even expecting the physical environment effects to be close to five pounds,” she said. 

Students on Pitt’s campus can easily relate to the findings of the study because many college atmospheres are similar in nature.

Dylan Pollock, a first-year engineering student at Pitt, said he understood that gaining the freshman 15 isn’t an all-out death sentence for a student’s health. Pollock said that he lost weight since arriving at Pitt. 

Pollock joined Pitt’s club wrestling team at the beginning of the fall semester and exercises regularly. But he said he understands that it can be risky for students to lose their grasp of a proper diet and their ability to pay attention to daily eating habits. 

“I’m pretty conscious of my swipes and dining dollars, so I don’t eat when I don’t have to,” he said.

He added that he ate healthier at home before coming to college, whereas, the lines at Market Central sometimes drive him to less nutritious options.

“Here, when I head to Market, it’s very easy to just pick up a burger, a chicken patty or mac and cheese,” Pollock said. “I usually would rather do that than have a salad or wait in line for something that could be healthier.”

“Also, I always eat dessert here, which I definitely didn’t do at home,” he added.

Pollock lives in Litchfield Tower A, located directly above Market Central, and he agrees with the study’s findings about the relationship between dining hall proximity and potential weight gain. He said that the ease of travel to Market prods him to “grab a burger and fries,” whereas, a location farther away from campus would force him to eat healthier. 

“The effortlessness of it is really what gets you in the end,” he said. “If it was more of a walk to Market, I wouldn’t be as tempted to go there.”

Recent University construction projects also add to the conversation regarding the treatment of health issues on campus.

This past semester, the University added Towers Treats, an ice cream and dessert booth, to Market Central. The booth offers sweet options including pies, puddings, cookies, Rice Krispies Treats and soft-serve ice cream and toppings. 

The University also added the Oakland Bakery and Market, a bakery in Amos Hall that replaced a fitness center.  

The William Pitt Union is now home to a new Taco Bell, relocated from its original location next to Quick Zone. Quick Zone, the convenience and food store located in the basement of Litchfield Towers adjacent to Market Central, has been expanded to include the food options previously offered by Market To-Go. 

Market To-Go, which closed this year, was an area across from Quick Zone that sold hot meals to students for the price of one meal swipe. 

“I personally would like to see some more healthy options at Market or at the Union,” Pollock said. “Essentially, eating healthy at Market is just eating a salad. There isn’t exactly any alternative.”

Pitt was recently ranked the 12th healthiest college campus in the country by Greatlist.com, an online source for health and fitness information.

Susan Fukushima, resident district manager at Sodexo, the corporation that provides Pitt’s dining services, said that the lack of bakeries in Oakland sparked the Amos Hall bakery project. 

“There aren’t any bakeries in Oakland, so in partnership with the University, Sodexo developed the bakery concept to add more variety for our students,” she said. “They now can order a birthday cake for a friend or grab something on the way to class.”

Fukushima added that Market Central has always served desserts, despite the construction of Towers Treats.

“The new station allows us to better display our desserts and add the soft-serve ice cream that students have been wanting,” she said. “Like anything, moderation is key to avoid any weight gain.”

Meg M. Mayer-Costa, a registered dietician at Pitt’s Wellness Center, believes that the expansion of on-campus eateries will not contribute to weight gain in students living nearby.

“In the same vein, does having a gym in the quad contribute to weight loss by its proximity to students?” she asked in an email. “Students can balance the foods they enjoy and maintain a healthful weight.”

Although the study does report that a gym located near students’ dormitories contributes to weight loss, Mayer-Costa said that it should be up to students to make good choices in deciding what they eat. 

“I believe that Oakland’s food-filled atmosphere is similar and quite indicative of the world around us,” Mayer-Costa said. “This is also the world students will eventually find themselves inhabiting.”

According to Mayer-Costa, making healthy food choices is part of maturing.

“Food is culturally and socially inherent to the fabric of our society, and the sooner students learn how to take care of their individual needs in such an atmosphere, the easier they will transition into their first career opportunities when they leave the University,” she said.