Posted Sept 17, 2009
That “Freshman 15” syndrome you keep hearing about? Total myth, dude.
Study after study shows that first-time college students gain maybe 4 pounds to 6, tops in their first year away from home and without Mom-imposed food-portion control.
But that doesnt mean freshmen (and sophomores and juniors) make smart nutrition choices.
Not by a long shot. And not, alas, despite persistent nagging from university dietitians serving in loco parentis.
If a student insists on subsisting on soda, ramen and candy bars, then thats the price of newfound freedom, right? When some authority figure tries to take away students inalienable right to trans-fatty foods, well, it can spawn campus upheaval.
Case in point: the Great UC-Davis French Fry Affair of 2008. The University of California, Davis, dietitian in charge of dining-hall cuisine, Linda Adams, had this great idea last fall to deep-six the deep-fryer and switch to healthier french fries cut from fresh potatoes, lightly brushed with canola oil, dusted with pepper and salt, and then baked.
“There was an uproar,” she says. “We got lots of comments like, What happened to the fries? We did a promotion on why we changed the fries, gave them a nutrient analysis.
“Eventually, the comments tapered off, and I started hearing, instead of Give me back the fries, things like, We want our unhealthy fries back. So at least they received the message we did it for health purposes. Now, they have adjusted to them. They say, they actually taste more like real potatoes.”
Thats the challenge for college nutritionists: Educating students to make healthy choices without resorting to shoving steamed broccoli down their throats.
Shauna Schultz, a registered dietitian who works at the wellness center at California State University, Sacramento, says it would be more accurate to rebrand “The Freshman 15” as “The College 15,” since poor eating habits have a cumulative effect.
“The problem is, each year they keep gaining weight,” Schultz says. “They get those eating habits their first year, so we try to tell them how to navigate the dining commons.”
A student might well ask, whats to know? Just grab a tray and a plate and fill er up on down the line.
Thats precisely the problem, according to Cornell University researchers. In a 2004 study, the Ithaca, N.Y., school monitored freshmen and determined that 20 percent of the weight gain was due to on-campus dining-hall meals specifically, the all-you-can-eat- buffet mentality.
“When you see more, you eat more,” Schultz says. “I have people check out the menu board to see whats offered or walk around and look at the choices and then decide what you want to take.”
Plate piling has abated at UC Davis Segundo Dining Commons since Adams and the dietary staff have students select entree and side dishes, and have the chef and staff deliver the plate with manageable portions.
“Say you want fish tacos,” Adams says. “You used to see people load up so thered be two portions of everything. Or three or four portions. Now, well give you a plate with two tacos and an appropriate amount of Spanish rice.”
If students still are hungry after consuming the first plate, they can ask for another. But Adams says, anecdotally, students are less inclined to overeat if they have to keep returning.
Portion size goes only so far if students insist on eschewing the salad bar for the dessert table. Which is why university dietitians sometimes have to be the bad guy and make the french fries healthier.
Adams next battle?
“Well, the executive chef and I were just talking about, Do we really need to have chicken nuggets on the menu? We sell so many nuggets. But its so heavily processed, full of God knows what. My goal is to get all of that off the menu.”
Date: sept 16, 2009