CSULA students to peers:
Exercise mind over menu
offer tools to help fight the “Freshman 15”; 10 healthy tips for college students
WHAT: Cal State L.A. Student Dietetic Association to celebrate National Nutrition Month by hosting “Healthy Eating,” an event featuring food samples, games/prizes, and nutrition information. Reporters are welcome to stop by for a “new school” look at nutrition.
WHEN: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday – Wednesday, March 24 – 26.
WHERE: Cal State L.A. Main Walkway (front of Biological Sciences building). The University is located at the intersection of the 10 and 710 freeway. Public permit dispenser parking available at Lot 5 and upper level of Parking Structure C.
WHY, WHO AND SOME CONTEXT:
Imagine snacking as you dash between classes, pouring down coffee as you cram for a test, pinching pennies in your food budget, sharing a refrigerator with roommates or resisting temptation in the cafeteria line. Now, could you fight off the fabled (and exaggerated) “freshman 15”?
College students—whether they’re freshmen or seniors—face a unique set of challenges to maintain a healthy diet. The “freshman 15” refers to the assertion that students tend to gain 15 pounds in their freshman year. While numerous studies have shown that “15” is an exaggeration, students face temptations and other challenges that can pack on pounds. (According to a new study in the American Journal of Health Behavior, males gain about 5 pounds as freshmen, largely due to alcohol consumption; and meanwhile women gain about 5.5 pounds, largely due to a response to increased workload. Other studies show that students on average gain 3 to 10 pounds during their first two years of college, with most of the gain during the first semester of freshman year.)
Whatever the numbers, Cal State L.A.’s Student Dietetic Association (SDA) wants to help fellow students take better care of themselves. A group of nutritional science students at Cal State L.A., the SDA will present along the campus’s Main Walkway this week “Healthy Eating,” a promotion of good habits and food awareness as part of National Nutrition Month. Stationed in front of the Biological Sciences building from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, March 24-26, “Healthy Eating” will feature food samples, games, prizes, nutrition information and SDA members available for questions about proper nutrition, fast foods and eating out, portion control and other topics. Reporters are welcome to stop by and get a “new school” look at nutrition.
TEN NUTRITIOUS TIPS:
According to SDA faculty advisor Laura Calderon, a Cal State L.A. nutritional science professor, “Fueling your body with nutritious foods will give you energy and help deter that weight gain to which students often succumb when they are in college. Be sure to eat breakfast and at least two other meals per day. Indeed, some students find that they do better consuming a small nutritious meal every three to five hours.”
Here are ten tips from Professor Calderon that will help college students maintain a healthy diet:
1. Choose ‘whole foods’ whenever possible. These include fresh fruits and vegetables, salads, nuts and seeds, whole grains, and legumes (beans). Eat boiled legumes (beans) several times per week as they are high in protein, iron and other essential minerals. Eat a salad at least once each day – limit salad dressing or use low-fat dressings.
2. Eat whole grain (not just ‘wheat’) or sprouted grain breads. These will have more fiber and nutrients.
3. Read labels – select foods with fewer added ingredients. Check serving size, calories and fat content on food labels.
4. Eat high protein and high fiber foods – these will stay with you the longest and you will not be as likely to overeat.
5. Limit sugar and foods with added sugars. Sugar may give you immediate energy, but you might find that you have less energy and are hungrier as the day progresses.
6. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Dehydration, even slight dehydration, results in a loss of energy and productivity.
7. Pack your lunch or at least bring a couple pieces of fruit, celery or carrot sticks with you to campus. Try not to rely on vending machines!
8. Go the health center and visit the ‘student’ dietitian if you have questions about nutrition and your health.
9. Limit your caffeine and alcohol – caffeine will only increase your anxiety, and both substances are dehydrating.
10. Take a nutrition class. At Cal State L.A., NTRS 204 (Diet and Exercise for Weight Management), NTRS 250 (Human Nutrition) or NTRS 351 (Adult Nutrition – upper division theme class) are great classes to learn more about nutrition.
Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than 20,000 students and 200,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to a unique university center for gifted students as young as 12. Among programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH- and Rockefeller-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a growing forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu