Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 11/22/04 Section: Campus News

Knowing what to eat and how to eat it could significantly impact students' future health. Nonetheless, some students at San Jose State University have difficulties sticking to a healthy eating schedule, and others say they frequently skip meals throughout the day.

Susanne Rough, a graduate nutrition major and a team lead in the Nutrition Education Action Team on campus, said it is especially important to eat a healthy breakfast so as to avoid binge eating and fatigue later in the day.

"We haven't eaten for over eight hours and probably more, so it is important to replenish your body," she said. "If we think about our body as a machine - you wouldn't try to drive your car without gas."

Rough said students who frequently skip meals, including breakfast, will experience some harmful consequences.

"You will be more sluggish. You are not going to think as clearly and it is definitely going to affect your energy levels," Rough said. "And you are more likely to grab something unhealthy."

Rita Stark, an undeclared sophomore, said she tends to prioritize sleep over breakfast.

"I set the alarm for 6 o' clock all the time, but I always end up hitting the snooze button until I just have to get up and run to make it to class," said Stark, who starts classes at 7:30 a.m. twice a week.

Stark said she eats her first meal around noon on the days she skips breakfast.

"By then, I am very hungry and I tend to be kind of tired," she said. "I try to eat healthy most of the time, but of course I also eat burgers and pizza just like everyone else."

Rough said it is OK to eat the occasional burger or slice of pizza as long as people have variety and balance in their diets.

"There really aren't any bad foods. It is the amount that you eat and the choices that you make within that group of foods," she said.

Rough said some people have a misperception that all fats are bad when in fact some fats help us to insulate the body and maintain physical activity.

One way to differentiate between the good and the bad fats is to check whether the fats are solid or liquid at room temperature, Rough said.

Solid fats, such as meat, dairy products and coconut oil, should be avoided as they could put you at risk of developing health problems, whereas liquid fats, such as olive, soybean, canola and peanut oils, should be used sparingly to help regulate the body's temperature.

Nonetheless, less than 30 percent of your daily calorie intake should come from fats, Rough said.

James Eyman, a senior business major, said he eats breakfast every day but tends to skip lunch instead.

"I'm just so busy throughout the day. It is kind of sad, but between classes and work I really don't have time to eat lunch," he said.

"And if anything, I'll eat a sandwich or something in my car when I'm driving to work."

Rough said she sees a lot of students who eat ready-made food from the campus snack bars.

"I see a lot of soda being consumed and I know people are eating on the run," she said.

Rough said a 20-ounce soda bottle contains about 17 teaspoons of sugar and represents a bad alternative to water, which is by far the best beverage choice.

"(Water) regulates our body temperatures (and) it carries nutrients throughout the body and helps remove waste," Rough said.

She said there are steps students can take to eat healthier while on campus.

For example, students could pick foods of the menus that are healthier options, such as roasted and baked rather than fried, or when purchasing packaged foods, they could scan the boxes for trigger words that should be avoided, such as hydrogenated, trans and saturated fats, Rough said.

She said out of the campus eating options, the Novel Café at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Joint Library has healthier food choices, while Bolthouse Farms, a passionfruit and carrot juice drink, is one of the healthier retail beverages.

She said some fat labels that are good for the body include olive oil, corn oil and safflower oil.

The Nutrition Education Action Team educates students about healthy eating habits using the Food Guide Pyramid developed by the United States Department of Agriculture.

The pyramid serves as an outline of what to eat every day.

At the bottom is the broadest or most important group of nutrients -- grain products, such as bread, cereal, rice and pasta -- from which women need about six to nine servings and men nine to 11 servings each day.

Fruits and vegetables come head-to- head in the second group from the bottom, which recommends that women eat three to four servings of vegetables and two to three servings of fruit, and that men eat four to fi ve servings of vegetables and three to four servings of fruit.

Third from the bottom are dairy products and high-protein foods, such as meat, fish, eggs and beans. Women and men need two to three servings of dairy foods such as milk and yogurt each day, while women need between five to six ounces of food from the meat group and men between six to seven ounces.

At the top of the pyramid is fat, which people need fewer calories from.

Nonetheless, people in the United States tend to include too much fat in their diets, Rough said.

"We have bad habits in this country," she said.

"We satisfy our taste buds I guess (and) ... our portions have gotten out of control."

She said on average women need about 2,000 calories and men about 2,500 calories each day, yet it takes an intake of about 3,500 calories to gain one pound.

Oscar Battle Jr., coordinator of health education at SJSU, said people need to have a better understanding of what constitutes a serving size so as to avoid overeating.

In addition, he said people who eat on the run tend to overeat because they eat too fast for the full signal to kick in.

"If you eat fast, you have gone beyond and you get the signal that you feel stuffed," Battle said. "(But) if you eat slow, in about 15 minutes you will get a signal that says you are full and you don't want any more food."

Battle said students need to have a rhythm in their eating behavior.

"To maintain healthy eating (habits) you need to establish routine times of eating every day, so you don't end up eating at 10 o' clock at night or 4 o' clock in the morning," Battle said.

Chelsea Freedman, a freshman linguistics major, said she knows about the importance of eating healthy and tries to follow the recommendations of the food guide pyramid.

"I try to cook at home and buy foods that don't have as much fat," Freedman said.

"All of my classes are in the morning so I don't really eat on campus at all, but if I did I would choose something healthier than fried chicken or burgers."

She said she thinks it is important to maintain a healthy diet to feel good and avoid gaining weight.

In addition, bad eating habits increase the risk of developing health problems, Rough said.

"If you skip whole food groups, (there) are some things you will miss in your diet," she said.

"The main thing is balance and variety -- that you get something from each level of the food pyramid," she said.

Some of the health problems people could incur because of unhealthy diets include diabetes type two, artery clogging, coronary and heart disease and risk of obesity, Rough said.

In addition, it is important to get the recommended dosage of vitamins and minerals each day to maintain a regular heartbeat, strong bones and prevent various diseases related to long-term vitamin and mineral deficiency.

"Fruits and vegetables are really important because of the vitamins and minerals and fiber that we get," Rough said.

"If we eat three meals a day and grab some healthy snacks we are probably going to eat healthier."

Cecilia Manibo, a staff physician at the Student Health Center, said students who are concerned about their diets could make an appointment with one of the physicians at the Health Center.

"We will refer them to the dietician for them to look at (their diets) and they will ask them typically to write a diet diary and then they will look at it," Manibo said.

She said the Health Center is in the process of hiring a new dietician for next semester.

Rough said the Nutrition Education Action Team, which has between 12 to 25 members who come and go, wants to promote healthy nutritional habits among students and faculty at SJSU via tabling events, interactive and educational presentations and video screenings.

The group will hold a screening of the film "Super Size Me" at 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 9 in the Umunhum room in the Student Union.

Any group interested in nutritional health could call the Nutrition Education Action Team to request a presentation at 924-6136.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools