Of all the concerns parents have when they send their children to school, healthy eating shouldn’t be one of them, especially as much as meal plans run these days. But dieting seems to be one of the most prominent health issue students face. As part of National Nutrition Month, University Health Service Dietician Jill Kindy discussed some of these issues students face, including unhealthy eating habits, weight loss and eating disorders in Monday’s Kernel.

Many students gain that dreaded “freshmen 15,” set on by many poor eating and drinking habits, but the problems extends beyond just bad choices. For students that live on campus or faculty and staff that eat on campus, the choices are baffling. A sizeable portion of fresh fruit and vegetables costs almost as much as a full breakfast overloaded with starch, cholesterol and fat. For lunch and dinner, the price options are similar. And for college students, money will often stand in the way of a healthy and nutritious meal option.

Also, most students are not properly educated on a balanced diet. When eating healthily, there has to be balance and moderation, which students are not taught, and in addition to the inaccessibility of healthy food. What happens is people switch to salads, thinking they are making smart healthy choices, but still making the same mistakes by adding all of the extras and then some to their perceived healthy meal.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 80 percent of all eating disorders begin while in college, and 10 percent of college females struggle with some form of an eating disorder. The spectrum of eating disorders ranges from excessive eating to closet eating with many other issues that extend beyond what we traditionally see as eating disorders, so there has to be more attention to allowing students the necessary healthy food and wellness support to ensure students the best results.

As special vegetarian and vegan diets become even more popular, there are not always adequate options for consumption on campus, and students have to have substantial options that can offer variety and sustenance for a student in need of food, and there has to be a conscious effort on including and increasing menu items for non-traditional diets.

The college lifestyle is not conducive to a healthy lifestyle. Students eat when there is time, there are not always the healthiest options available, and there are added levels of stress and emotional issues that start students down the bad habits that lead to the health issues we face later on in life. Work can be done to combat such issues from the school’s standpoint, offering more nutritious food and educating students about healthy diets and lifestyles through USP courses or student health. But students still need to be able to make sound choices regarding their own health. It doesn’t take a fitness guru to know when to take it easy on pleasure food, or when it may be time to mix in some exercise.