Healthy Eating Solutions for First Year Students to Prevent Obesity
(Fig 1: The Fat Problem)
HERE ARE:
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!
AND
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO!
Obesity is taking over the U.S.!
Obesity is one major health problem in the United States. It causes more deaths each year than the deaths caused by smoking (Spurlock). By using the body mass index (BMI) method which based on a standard measure that is relating weight to height, we have found that two out of three Americans are overweight. This number puts America to the fattest nation in the world (Akst)! There are 400,000 deaths that are related to the obesity in America annually (Spurlock). Sadly this number is still growing at alarming rates! Studies show deaths that caused by obesity each year is already caught up with the deaths caused by smoking, and this rate is increasing fast! See Table 1.
As we all know that fast food is popular by its convenience and tastes. Most people eat fast food because they can’t really squeeze the time out of their tight schedules to go to sit-down restaurants. First year college students like us just moved out from the loving families, homemade meals are no longer easy to have. We are on our own and free to eat what we want, when we want it. We can also pile on the portions, and indulge in sugary and salty snacks to fuel late-night study sessions (Hirsch). In addition the low prices of food are also one of the reasons why we choose to go to fast food restaurants when we have had enough of the cafeteria food on campus.
Fast food Industries are taking over the kids. Our next generation will be even fatter!
Since the 1970s, the percentage of overweight children and adolescents has more than doubled (Gavin)! With the number of obese children increasing, more people will be overweight in the future!
Most parents don’t want to cook at home anymore, because home meals are time consuming. The kids like having the toys that come with the kids’ meals at the fast food restaurants, and there are also playgrounds at the fast food restaurants. It is hard for the parents not taking the children to have fast food. It is an uphill battle to fight with obesity problems especially when the fast food industries are going against us. They want to keep making billions from the customers. As long as the toys can draw the kids’ attentions, and the food tastes better than any other places, families will ate at the restaurant frequently.
“You are going to DIE if you keep eating fast food!!”
I am sure that most of us have heard how bad fast food is to our health. But has anyone really known how poor the nutrition is in fast food? Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock chose to use himself as a guinea pig, eating nothing but fast food from McDonald’s for one straight month to find out how bad fast food really is (Spurlock). Before the “adventure” Spurlock went to four different doctors, he had they exam his health status, everything was normal, the doctors said his health is above average at his age. After his “McDiet” with three meals from McDonald’s every day for thirty days, the results of his health were shocking. Throughout the one month period, he had gained 24.5 pounds weight, which was 13% of his body mass. Fast food also brought him many health problems over the 30 days period. The doctors were surprised seeing Spurlock back in their offices. They were amazed how much fast food can change one person in such a short period of time. With the all problems he had from eating, one doctor concluded that “You are going to die if you keep eating fast food” (Spurlock). This film fully provides the evidence of how fast food really is.
Studies have shown that the younger generations are getting fatter in these days. We need to stop eating unhealthy which has been going on for generations. We are now college students, our life styles have changed a lot after being away from our families. We have lot of freedom being a college student, but having this freedom does not mean that you can stop taking care of your body.
Give up the “Greasy” and Stick with the Healthy Choices!!
According to Dr. Mary G. Enig, a nutritionist is known for her research on the nutritional aspects of fats and oils, she claims that Trans fat are considered as possible cause for: Coronary Heart Disease (Raise bad cholesterol and lower good cholesterol); stroke; diabetes; cancer; obesity; liver dysfunction and infertility etc… (Enig) Amount all kinds of food, fast food happen to have the most Trans fat in it. Eating fast food does satisfy us for a short amount of times, but the after effects only lead us to sickness and a fat unshaped body.
For Your Information:
To break down the not-eating-healthy chain is easy. First of all we need to minimize how much fast food we eat. There are more things that you can do to stay away from gaining weight in this new environment. Good habits like a balanced diet, regular exercise, and getting enough sleep can do more than keep the pounds off — they can also help you stay healthy and avoid problems down the line (Hirsch).
Studies shows that DU students tend to eat healthy on campus. Statistics show that about 98% of DU students eat fast food no more than 5 times a week, and the other 2% eat fast food no more than 10 times a week. These numbers are very low compare to the fact that over one fourth of American visit fast food restaurants every day (Spurlock)! DU students have good senses of knowing how to eat healthy and they are very confident that they believe they are healthy. Table 2 and table 3 provide the statistics for better understanding.
Some Helpful Tips
Exercises Help Preventing Obesity
Researchers found that students who exercise at least 3 days a week were more likely to report better physical health, as well as greater happiness, than those who did not exercise (Hirsch). Researches also show that the students who do exercises manage their time better than the students who don’t exercise. Many of us tend to be less active as college students. Doing exercises can help keeping in shape. Don’t you want to be more attractive?
“Stress Free” Please!
Many of us will find ourselves stressed from the school works very often. Sleep is a great way to get rid of stresses! Try your best to get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Your body can only do the “repair” works when you are asleep. Studies have shown that sleep is also a great way to manage the stress that can prompt overeating (Hirsch).
Drink, drink, drink!
Hey guys! Don’t get yourselves confused! Here I mean drinking water. Denver is well known as the mile high city. Dehydration happens very often. Make sure that you drink enough water. Water is also better than soft drinks due to the fact that water has no sugar or any other components that can cause obesity.
Some Healthy Restaurants around Campus
Chipotle, Mexican food restaurant, reasonable price and fast food type restaurant; Sub Way, cheap subs; Spicy Pickle, healthy sandwiches; Bruegger’s and Einstein Bros Bagels…
Fruits and Veggies
Fruits and vegetables contain tons of the vitamins and other healthy elements we need. They also contain tons of water, and this is another way to get the H2O you need. So remember to have some fruits and veggies daily!
Works Cited
Akst, Daniel. "Finding Fault for the Fat." Boston.Com. 07 Dec. 2003. 09 Apr. 2008
Balko, Radley. "Big Reasons for Fat Skepticism." Cato Institute . 24 Dec 2004. Cato Institute. 11 May 2008
The Fat Problem, "Society Contributes to Obesity: UK report ." The Fat Problem. 21 October 2007 . The Fa Problem. 12 May 2008
Gavin, Mary L., ed. "Overweight and Obesity." Kids Health. Aug. 2005. 06 May 2008
Gun Violence in America." National Rifle Association Information. Violence Policy Center. 11 May 2008
Hirsch, Larissa, ed. "Beating the Freshman 15." Teens Health. Jan. 2007. 06 May 2008
Hu, Sean. "Fast Food and Obesity: The Relationships between Fast Food and Obesity among DU Students."1st. 2008.
Mary, Enig. “Lowfat Diets” www.westonaprice.org. 31 Dec. 2001 09 Apr. 2008
< http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/lowfatdiets.html >
McDonald’s PLAYPLACE, "St. Thomas Restaurants." This Week. 12 May 2008
Michigan Auto Accident Lawyers." ACCIDENT ATTORNEY MICHIGAN. ACCIDENT ATTORNEY MICHIGAN. 11 May 2008
Schlosser, Eric, and Charles Wilson. Chew on This. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. 13-20.
Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. DVD. Kathbur Pictures, 2004.
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