Late-night pizza, beer and dorm food. With college students' dietary choices, it is possible the \freshman 15"" can become the ""undergrad 25.""
On the UW-Madison campus, there are students with brilliant minds and people who make discoveries that change the world. Yet many college students often knowingly ignore their nutritional health.
""I eat what I'm hungry for. My body feels weird when I don't get enough of certain things, so I eat more of those,"" said UW-Madison junior Tim King.
Most of the UW-Madison students interviewed agreed the food pyramid outlines a balanced diet. However, none of the students said they followed that outline.
Another recurrent theme is high sugar intake, most notably from soda. Most students said they drink at least one soda a day and in most cases drink two to three sodas a day.
""I'm addicted to caffeine. I get headaches without it,"" said UW-Madison junior John Lenz.
Despite their high level of soda consumption, many of the students said they make milk a priority.
""I always have bedtime milk before I go to sleep,"" said UW-Madison sophomore Mark Davie.
UW-Madison junior Brian Hagen was one of many students who said he eats a lot of pizza. Pizza claims its place of priority in a college student's diet largely due to its convenience.
Even more irregular than students' dietary choices are the frequencies at which they eat. Some, like Hagen, eat an average of three times a day. UW-Madison junior Conor Smith represents the ""snackers"" - people who snack at least once during the day between meals. Although many students interviewed commonly skip breakfast, some, like Lenz, make breakfast a part of their daily routine.
Steff Zierke, a UW-Madison sophomore majoring in computer engineering and Spanish, is on target with the recommendations of fitness instructors today.
""I eat throughout the day probably six to seven small meals,"" Zierke said.
Many things can motivate a student to make these types of nutritional choices.
""Students eat the way they do for convenience and because of what is provided, such as in the dorms. College students feel they are immortal and nothing's going to bother them,"" said Tim Gattenby, a fitness instructor at UW-Madison and personal trainer.
Smith said, ""I eat the way I do because it's healthy. I like to stay in shape and not be sick.""
""At the beginning of the semester I decided it would be more healthy for me to not eat dorm food,"" said UW-Madison junior James Hatchett, who often eats in his room or on State Street.
Most of the students interviewed said they ate better before college.
""I think it's easier to get variety and complete meals at home,"" said UW-Madison freshman Amy Langenohl.
""Here, it's a lot of rushing to get things done and it's not as easy to prepare something complex and nutritious,"" Smith said. ""At home, I eat healthier because everything is fresher and of higher quality.""
Obviously, not all college students ignore their body's nutritional needs, but with jobs, schoolwork and a social life, healthy eating takes effort. Perhaps this new year, instead of making lofty goals students never quite carry through, they can start taking care of their bodies the way the food pyramid taught them.
