Fitness Brief

    Ramen Noodles, Pop-Tarts, and a box of Lucky Charms are all jockeying for a position ins a space designed to hold much less.  No, this is not a picture of the bargain basket at Kroger, it is the snack selection in a typical dorm room.
    Nutrition does not receive enough attention in the life of many GCSU students.  That could explain the abundance of junk food consumed by many during the college years.
    Travis Davidson, a sophomore nursing major at GCSU, witnessed this scene during his freshman year.
    “I ate Spaghettios, ravioli, chips, and a lot of junk food in the beginning.  I usually ate when I got bored, it was unhealthy,” Davidson said.
    The “freshman 15” is a myth that haunts many incoming college students.  While every student will not gain 15 pounds, some gain will more than likely occur, according to a recent study by Journal of American College Health.  
    “It was really noticeable my second year to see how much weight some people had gained since freshman year.  I think a lack of exercise and making excuses to not do anything, along with junk food, is probably the reason for that,” said Chris Russell, a senior history major at GCSU. 
    Thirty-five hundred calories converts into one pound of fat.  Eating high calorie snacks during late night hours may be one of the largest contributing factors leading to the poor physical health experienced by many college students.  The body, less physically active at night, does not burn off calories quite the same as during the day, when an individual is more physically active.
    The next time you think about going to Taco Bell at 1 a.m., keep in mind that one regular taco contains 200 calories.  Eating three of these, two times at week late at night will add up to 1,200 additional calories an individual will consume before sleeping. 
    Healthier alternatives to typical snack foods are easy to come by.  Bananas, carrot sticks, pretzels and peanuts, are just a few healthy alternatives to keep in mind the next time the 2 a.m. hanger pangs kick in again.
    Tinsley Smith, a sophomore with an undeclared major, has changed her eating habits since her days living in Parkhurst Hall.
    “I always ate late at night when I was in the dorms, since we would stay up so late.  I didn’t gain the freshman 15; I was lucky.  I am in much better health now than what I was in last year,” Smith said.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 15 2006. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry