Campus Food or Bad Habits: Which is to blame for student diet frustrations?
SUNY New Paltz has implemented healthier changes to its menu but students still struggle to see results on the scale.
By Nekaiya Trotman
Photos courtesy of www.sxc.hu
F
or almost four years Evelyn Gezo has had students walking into her office seeking advice on losing weight, maintaining weight and even gaining weight and for almost four years she’s been giving them all some very colorful advice; when eating, your plate should look like a rainbow. As the Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist at SUNY New Paltz, Gezo urges students to eat foods of all colors by considering all options and selecting a variety of food from what is available to them. And there is a lot available.
cakes and cookies beginning as early as 7:30 a.m. Every dining hall serves pizza. Cheeseburgers, french fries, mozzarella sticks and fried chicken tenders are also popular. But alongside these items are also healthier choices such as turkey burgers, lean turkey meat for sandwiches, and grilled chicken. “There’s no excuse not to eat healthy at New Paltz,” Gezo said. “It’s a matter of choice. There are always healthy options available.”
Photo courtesy of www.sxc.hu
Renee Ambrossio, a SUNY New Paltz junior, disagrees.
SUNY New Paltz has four dining halls; The Backstage Cafe in Parker “There are just so many fatty foods. Theater, Hasbrouck Dining Hall, Hawks I see fries way more than I see Station and an eatery in the Student vegetables,” she said. “Sometimes Union Building. There are also two there’s no whole wheat pasta at the cafes located in pasta stations the Jacobson and there’s only “Some students add a bunch of Faculty Tower so many times cheese, fried chicken and fatty and in the you can eat a dressings and that stuff just Sojourner Truth turkey sandwich defeats the whole purpose of Library. so I end up living
eating a salad.” —Evelyn Gezo,
on salad.” With this abundance of Salad seems SUNY New Paltz Registered Dietitian and Nutritionis food offered on to be the go campus, there to option for is a concern among students that it students when they think of eating is nearly impossible to lose weight on healthy. Kate Taub, a SUNY New Paltz campus. sophomore, says she also turns to Hasbrouck Dining Hall offers an unlimited buffet available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Hawks Station is open from 7 p.m. to midnight and the cafes serve
salad as a healthier choice. “I’m not really a fan of salad and it never really fills me up but I feel good when I eat it,” she said. “It’s better than
stuffing my face with pizza and fries.” Calories play a major role in maintaining one’s weight. According to Gezo, the number of calories consumed should be different for each student depending on factors such as age, weight and activity level. Female “Some students students should eat add a bunch of between 1,500 and cheese, fried 2,400 calories per chicken and fatty day and men should dressings and that eat between 1,800 stuff just defeats and 3,000. the whole purpose of eating a salad,” According to Gezo said. dietbites.com, there are 3,500 calories Another option in a pound. In order that students to lose one pound choose as an an individual must alternative to the eliminate 3,500 food in the dining calories from his or halls are frozen her diet. diet foods like In the spring of Weight Watchers 2009 Hasbrouck and Lean Cuisines. Dining Hall made it The meals come Nutritional facts for a Spaghetti and meat sause with easier for students to packaged in small mushroom and basil weight watchers meal. track the number of portion sizes and offer fewer calories but they sometimes calories they are consuming. A student survey was taken and the top five tend to be very high in sodium. nutritional facts that students voted for “Those meals are not a healthy are now placed near each food item. choice, Gezo remarks. “Students need The five that were chosen are calories, to understand that lower calories do not carbohydrates, protein, fat and sodium. automatically mean healthier.” Photo courtesy of Nekaiya Trotman
A salad can be a healthy option because it consists mostly of vegetables but Gezo says that salads can be just as unhealthy as eating a cheeseburger.
Drinking water adds 0 calories to your diet. Photo courtesy of www.sxc.hu
“This is what the students wanted. We gave them the opportunity to be heard and we listened,” Gezo said. Michelle Chapin, director of Sodexo food services, says that in the past the campus has implemented menu changes but the majority of students often opted for pizza. “Two years ago we put a lot more whole wheat foods and organic products into the dining halls and students didn’t take to them very well, but that was two years ago,” she said. Recently the food service company has added more vegetables to the salad bar, students have the option to add vegetables to their salad and there is now low fat mayo for sandwiches. Chapin says that these changes have been very successful. With all of the efforts being put into place to make it easier for students to have healthier options Gezo says that there are many other reasons that can cause a student’s diet to be unsuccessful. One of the main causes she says, is alcohol.
“Even though students are underage they drink and drinking adds calories to your diet,” Gezo said. According to www.nlm.gov, alcohol is created from fermenting starches and sugars and contains approximately 7 calories per gram. Calories taken in from consuming alcohol are empty calories because they have no beneficial nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Staying up late and snacking, ordering out and being less active than students were in high school are other concerns, Gezo said. According to Gezo, SUNY New Paltz has done its best to provide students with options that will lead them to maintain a very healthy and balanced diet. There are a lot of options on campus and students should know that dieting does not mean that they can’t enjoy some of their favorite foods. “It’s all about portion control,” Gezo said. “People need a little fat in their diet.”
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