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Blog Entry 21 of 27 The Donnanator Report

My favorite article topics have been soccer and healthcare issues related to my profession. I'm likely to keep focusing on those, and throw in social commentary and satire as necessary. There are plenty of health, nutrition and food behaviors just screaming for the kind of commentary possible with a blog, and who better to write those than a nutrition professional? I'm a big proponent of taking personal responsibility for health, and that philosophy will definitely influence my analysis of healthcare and health insurance issues. As for soccer, I've written about high school soccer, because that's what makes for good headlines, but clearly mainstream news organizations in the US need to improve coverage and analysis of all soccer, from local clubs to the World Cup.

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~TheDonnanator

The freshman 15 - revisited

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Contributed by: Donna Feldman on 1/31/2008

I wrote previously about the Freshman 15, in autumn, when the vulnerable college freshmen were already on campus. By then it was too late, because it's clear that the time to start thinking about this issue is now for high school seniors and their parents. So, parents and seniors, I'm talking to you.

Once you make your college choice and send a deposit, you start receiving an avalanche of paperwork and forms to fill out. One of these is the Meal Plan Selection. What to do? Most college and universities now offer a bewildering array of meal plan options: so many meals/week or per semester, flex points, a la carte purchases, and combinations of all of these in various percentages.

You wonder: what exactly are those Flex Points (or whatever they call them), and what kind of food you can buy with them and where? What's included in the Meals? Where do the students eat? It's all a big unknown, so you do what most parents do: you spring for the biggest package. Let's say you buy the 20-meal/week plan. That means your college freshman is entitled to eat 3 meals/day. But what if they don't get up until noon o'clock (warning - this is common)? They now have to eat 3 meals between noon and 7 p.m., or whenever the cafeteria closes. Otherwise you're losing money. Some kids, feeling bad about the money, try to keep up with the 3 meals/day obligation and the weight starts creeping on. So when you're making your meal plan selection, be realistic.

Which brings me to Point #2: sleeping. Suffice it to say, college freshmen seem to be living full time in a sleep deprivation study. Recent research hints that sleep deprivation affects metabolism in a way that promotes weight gain. Then there's the possibility that kids simply eat too much because they're exhausted, and they think food will give them energy. Or they eat too much because they're awake and hungry at 3 a.m. Whatever the reason, if sleep deprivation is setting them up for weigh gain, and you put them on the 3-meal/day plan, they're going to gain weight.

Which brings me to Point #3: exercise. For many college freshmen, this will be the first year in their lives they are not playing an organized sport. The few who are recruited onto a college varsity, or competitive club, team will be getting plenty of physical activity. Many kids give up sports after high school, because they're not on a team anymore. They were used to the external motivation of coaches and practice schedules to keep them in shape. Suddenly, they're on their own to be self-motivated, to figure out some individual activity that promotes fitness ,and then stick with it. With all the other distractions of freshman year, and maybe lacking a peer group of exercising friends, physical activity falls by the wayside. And for previously active kids, this is a disaster. Even if the don't fall into the excess food traps of college life, a newly sedentary lifestyle can cause weight gain all by itself.

Which brings me to Point #4, which is - strangely - Free Food. Who knew? With all the hysteria about rising college expenses, there's all this free food. Granted, all campuses might not have this "problem" to the same extent. But it is peculiar to freshmen. In an effort to promote new friendships and attract new students to clubs and organizations, or to foster dorm bonding, there is no end of 1st semester parties, meetings, information sessions and Get Acquainted events that feature free food. After all, food is a good way to draw people to an event, especially freshmen who may feel uncomfortable at first. Food is a great ice breaker. And inevitably the food is pizza or cookies - simple stuff that doesn't require utensils or preparation or even a plate. I asked one of my college freshmen if she though it was theoretically possible to never buy a meal plan and just get by on free food for the semester. She thought possibly, but only if you REALLY liked pizza and cookies.

Which takes me back to the Meal Plan. With all the sleep deprivation, socializing, lack of exercise and free food, think hard about whether or not your college freshman needs 3 meals/day, everyday.

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Submitted By: Barbara Neff

posted on 1/31/2008 @ 2:38:21 PM

Rated Blog Entry

Greasy, unlimited cafeteria food, junk food vending machines in the dorm, the discovery of keg parties and marijuana (which leads to the munchies, I have been told) can all lead to packing on the pounds at college.

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Donna Feldman

Louisville , CO

Donna Feldman has posted 27 blog entries and 0 comments since joining on 9/14/2005. Donna Feldman 's average blog rating is 4.6.

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