The Guide To Eating Healthy on Campus

 By Rachel Galatis 

EASTON- Are you a college student who eats well at home, but struggles to maintain a healthy diet on campus? This may come as a surprise, but you are not alone.  

It may be easier to eat healthy while at home for a variety of reasons. Your parents may always cook healthy meals for the family at dinner time. You may have access to more kitchen tools, such as a blender, a toaster, pots, and pans. It is normal to pick up the first thing you see while browsing the dining hall options because it is right there in front of you; no one is going to tell you “no, you shouldn’t be eating that.”  

Stonehill College nutritionist, Kim Pierce, said eating healthy can be a challenge, but students can maintain a healthy diet if they know where to start.   

“The foundation of a healthy diet is both what you eat and when you eat it,” she said.  

Pierce said she meets with students often to help them navigate which foods are safe if they have dietary needs. She also meets with students to help them achieve goals if they have any.  

“I meet with some students every week, like a class, which gives us to opportunity to make slow, steady changes that become lifelong habits,” she said.  

Myra Hines, a sophomore at Stonehill, said that she focuses on maintaining healthy habits at school by going to the gym, walking to class, and eating healthy in the dining hall.  

“To stay healthy, I try and make sure I get 10,000 steps a day and I usually do between going to the gym and walking to class, and I like how all of the dining options on campus provide the calories, so you know what is in your food,” she said.  

Hines said that over quarantine last spring, she made a point to focus on healthy habits and believes this helped her academic performance improve, as she said that she felt she had more energy. However, she said that she eats healthier at school because she has less access to food than if at home.  

“I have more options at home, but I have more of a healthy mindset at school due to the limited options and that everything is portioned out for you,” she said.  

According to experts, students who exercise regularly and eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains have a better chance of performing higher academically. Nutrient deficiencies are associated with lower grades and a higher chance of absenteeism.  

Felicia D’Ambra, a sophomore at Bridgewater State University, said that she notices an increase in her energy levels when she eats healthier foods and can focus better on her schoolwork.  

“When I eat good, I feel good and it pushes me to work harder in school and get my work done on time,” she said.  

D’Ambra also said that she credits exercise for her motivation to eat a healthy meal but wishes that the gym at BSU isn’t as crowded as it usually gets.  
Both Stonehill and BSU campuses have a gym that is open to those on campus only.  

Kolby Hebert, a Zumba instructor at Stonehill, said that she fell in love with Zumba as a college student because it provides a fun way to do cardio instead of walking or running. As a research development program manager, she said that she uses Zumba to release stress since her workdays are long.  

“To me having that release- letting yourself go and having that time to escape and feel good about yourself and help mental health in general is huge as I am a believer in exercise and how it helps people find what they want that release to look like,” she said.  

Hebert said that group exercise is a great way to find a form of exercise you like and be able to share that liking with those taking that class with you. 

“My advice is to try all of the classes you are bound to find something to look forward to and grow from, and with mental health being so important for people to at least be aware in 2020, exercise is a way to escape from all of that,” she said.