Going away to college is an exciting time where students make new connections, have new life experiences, and undergo drastic changes in their lifestyle. New dietary habits are one of those changes that can have serious short-term and long-term consequences.
Hello, I’m Dr. Brooke Hildebrand Clubbs at Southeast Missouri State University. There are measures that institutions of higher learning can take to assist students in making healthier food choices.
College curriculums typically lack a mandatory health or physical education course. According to a 2018 study in the Journal of Health Education Teaching, community college students taking mandatory health-related fitness courses resulted in an increase in breakfast consumption, a decrease in fast food consumption, and a decrease in the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages. Integrating a mandatory course into college curricula can teach students about the importance of nutrition.
Food insecurity is another college-related issue that can lead to poor nutrition. A 2021 study from the Journal of American College Health studied how utilizing campus food pantries creates a two-pronged opportunity to provide students with free, nutritious food while also creating a platform to give students literature providing them with nutritional information and healthy recipes.
The last measure that colleges can take is educating students about the importance of reading nutrition labels and making nutrition facts easily accessible for food served on campus.
Content for this segment was created by Nick Kalinin. Nick is a graduate student in Southeast’s Higher Education Administration program and is a graduate assistant in the Office of Military and Veterans Services at Southeast Missouri State University. He is looking forward to a satisfying career in higher ed and plans to continue serving non-traditional and underrepresented students.
Resources:
Guidance for healthy diets for college student: https://share.upmc.com/2019/04/healthy-diets-college-students/
Clerkin, K. D., Pohl, C. J., Shupe, E. R., & Kim, M. J. (2021). Influencing Nutritional Habits of CollegeStudents Using a Food Pantry. Journal of American College Health, 69(8), 937–941.
Evans, M. S., Massey-Stokes, M., & Denson, K. (2018). Effectiveness of a Required Health-Related Fitness Course on Dietary Behaviors among Community College Students. Journal of Health Education Teaching, 9(1), 1–13.
