Introduction:Freshman year of college is a turning point in most young adult’s lives. They are moving away from home and living on their own or with peers. Tammy Smith, an incoming freshman is concerned about what her diet will be like while living in a dorm. She has heard that a lot of females in college will develop eating disorders because of their poor diet and possible weight gain from lack of exercise. Tammy started to do research on the internet and stumbled across “Healthy Eating: A Practical Guide” published by Concordia University.
In the guide, it has guidelines and tips for college students to eat healthy while on a budget, and a chart for the amount of each food group that a female needs to eat to have a healthy diet. While doing research online, Tammy decided to check her textbook that she preordered “Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies” by Frances Sienkiewicz Sizer and Ellie Whitney, for her nutrition class to see if the information she found online coincided with her textbook. By using both sources she was determined to stay healthy while living in college. Research:In Sizer and Whitney’s (2013) book on nutrition, it has the proper ways of staying eating in a healthy manner and obtaining a balanced diet. Sizer (2013, p.8) explains that “When you eat food, then, you are providing your body with energy and minerals.
Furthermore, some of the nutrients are essential nutrients, meaning that if you do not ingest them, you will develop deficiencies: the body cannot make these nutrients for themselves.” The authors go over what good and bad foods are, from saturated fats and unsaturated fats to the difference between an adequate diet and a balanced diet. Sizer (2013, p.11) defines adequate as “The dietary characterist. .e able to keep herself healthy while away from her parents.
By following the guide on the servings of food she should consume a day along with doing the math for her BMR she should be able to have a balanced diet, and if not a balanced diet, then at least a healthy one. “A well planned diet is adequate, balanced, moderate in energy, and moderate in unwanted constituents, and offer a variety of nutritious foods”(Sizer, 2013, p.12). College students are not always the best at following meal plans and watching what they eat because other priorities get in the way like school or work. If those responsibilities start to pop up, remember to not give up hope because your health is important. As long as Tammy is conscious of what she puts in her body and tries to lead a better more nutritious lifestyle, she should achieve her goal of being healthy while living in the dorms.
